Paul Burns (judge)
Paul Burns is an Irish lawyer who has been a judge of the High Court of Ireland since March 2020. He previously practised as a barrister with a focus on criminal trials. Early life Burns attended Trinity College Dublin where he obtained a bachelor's degree in legal science in 1984 and a Master of Letters in law in 1987. Legal career He became a barrister in 1986 and became a senior counsel in 2004. His practice was predominantly focused on criminal law, appearing for both accused persons and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Among the trials he has been involved with included serious offences of murder, sexual offences and drug offences. He has also acted in actions involving judicial review, constitutional law, personal injuries and defamation. In 1998 he appeared in the Special Criminal Court for Paul Ward in his trial for the murder of Veronica Guerin and in 2003 in the Court of Criminal Appeal for Catherine Nevin in an appeal of her murder conviction. He represented former judge Brian Curtin at trial and in Oireachtas proceedings and later former judge Heather Perrin in her trial for false accounting. In 2007 he was counsel for the Garda Síochána in