Kevin Cross (born 1951) is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the High Court from 2011 to 2021.

Early life

Cross attended

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

. He served as Auditor of the UCD L&H. He became a barrister in 1975, and a

senior counsel The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...

in 1997. He has represented the

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and

Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin Children's Health Ireland at Crumlin (CHI at Crumlin; ga, Sláinte Leanaí Éireann ag Cromghlinn) in Drimnagh, Dublin is Ireland's largest paediatric hospital. CHI at Crumlin is so called because it is located ''at'' Crumlin. However it is ...

Judicial career

Cross was appointed a High Court judge in October 2011. He was in charge of the personal injuries list for the High Court. He presided over ''Morrissey v

Health Service Executive The Health Service Executive (HSE) ( ga, Feidhmeannacht na Seirbhíse Sláinte) is the publicly funded healthcare system in Ireland, responsible for the provision of health and personal social services. It came into operation on 1 January 2005 ...

'', which arose out of the

CervicalCheck cancer scandal The CervicalCheck cancer scandal first emerged in 2018 and involved several women in the Republic of Ireland suing the Health Service Executive (HSE) after they received incorrect smear test results for cervical cancer. Background In 2011, V ...

. He held that screeners must have "absolute confidence" before definitively ruling out a health condition in a screening test. This was subject to an appeal to the

Supreme Court of Ireland , image = Coat of arms of Ireland.svg , imagesize = 120px , alt = , caption = Coat of Arms of Ireland , image2 = Four Courts, Dublin 2014-09-13.jpg , imagesize2 = , alt2 ...

due to the standard of confidence he applied. The Supreme Court unanimously upheld his decision. Cross criticised the response of some doctors to his decision, calling some commentary "hysterical". He served as Chairperson of the

Referendum Commission A Referendum Commission ( ga, An Coimisiún Reifrinn) is an independent statutory body in Ireland which is set up in advance of any referendum. The Referendum Act 1998 as amended by the Referendum Act 2001 provides for the establishment of the bod ...

for two concurrent referendums in 2015, the successful 34th Amendment and unsuccessful 35th Amendment Bill 2015 to the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

. He retired as a judge in November 2021 and stated he plans to undertake a PhD on

John Philpot Curran John Philpot Curran (24 July 1750 – 14 October 1817) was an Irish orator, politician, wit, lawyer and judge, who held the office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland. He was renowned for his representation in 1780 of Father Neale, a Catholic prie ...

Personal life

He is married to Alison Lindsay. Lindsay is a retired judge of the Circuit Court.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Kevin Living people High Court judges (Ireland) Alumni of University College Dublin 1951 births Chairpersons of the Referendum Commission Alumni of King's Inns