In the trial of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, the defence tells the jury it should not rely on testimony from the alleged victims. According to accounts from both outlets, barrister Kieran Vaughan argues that the accusers are “not sufficiently reliable” for a guilty verdict. Vaughan directs the jury to focus on the evidence presented in court rather than outside commentary or broader controversy, repeatedly using the phrase “ignore the noise.”
The Irish Times reports that Vaughan makes this submission in the context of the jury’s decision-making and frames it as an assessment of reliability rather than any single piece of evidence. The Irish Mirror similarly states that Vaughan tells the jurors to disregard “noise” and concentrate on what the court has heard and shown.
The reports describe the jury as drawn from seven men and five women. Both articles present the defence message as part of the ongoing process of evaluating credibility and sufficiency of evidence, with the case still before the jury.
