“On 11 December, a Special General Meeting has been convened to […] ‘consider the report of the Committee established to look into the allegations made against the Honourable Chief Justice and to direct Council as to the next steps, if any, which should be taken’—including a possible referral to the …
Read More »Crowne: AG Al-Rawi was out of line and unprofessional in response to Senator Hosein
“The Attorney General occupies the second or third highest office in our nation. To use that office to suggest that a fellow member of the legal profession be de-credentialed simply because he disagrees with their statement is appalling. “This is not about politics. It is about civility and basic professionalism.” …
Read More »Daly Bread: Beware of submission to misconduct; and the budding relationship between the CJ and AG
It appears that Chief Justice Ivor Archie has lost his appeal to the Privy Council in his attempt to restrain the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) from investigating allegations of misconduct made against him in the media. The Privy Council did not call upon LATT’s lawyers to respond …
Read More »Daly Bread: Evading accountability; how the JLSC tried to mamaguy judicial community
One year ago, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) brought itself into disrepute and tarnished the institutional reputation of the Judiciary by the blunder of the appointment and “un-appointment” of the then Chief Magistrate, Marcia Ayers-Caesar, to the High Court Bench. The JLSC never begged pardon for its blunder …
Read More »Daly Bread: Break-ins, break-outs and Govt’s blunder of appeasement
This troubled Sunday morning, let’s view the continuing Chief Justice saga through the prism of Watergate. On 22 July 1973, the headline on the front page of the Washington was ‘Nixon sees witch-hunt.’ At that time, the now famed Washington Post reporters, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, were actively pursuing the …
Read More »Daly: Archie’s secret Judge supporters should declare themselves in interest of fair appeal
“In the event of an appeal, I believe that it is incumbent on any member of the Court of Appeal who is assigned to the appeal to state, either in open Court or in Chambers in the presence of all counsel, that he or she is not one of those …
Read More »Daly: Justice must be open to scrutiny; Law Association should continue Archie probe
For many months, I have been commenting on the likely damage to the Judiciary first as a result of the fiasco of the appointment and purported resignation of Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a High Court Judge and, shortly after that, separate allegations about the conduct of the Chief Justice. Somewhat belatedly …
Read More »Dear Editor: Law Association out of line to scold members on response to Anand’s arrest
“The Law Association’s current attempt to stifle legitimate dialogue about matters of public interest—like excessive detentions and the abuse of police powers—is also an affront to the independence of the bar and the rule of law.” The following Letter to the Editor on the LATT’s response to statements by practising …
Read More »MEDIA MONITOR: Who will safeguard the media vs the Guardian? And the CJ vs the Express?
More or less 20%. That is the share of the newspaper market that the Guardian has enjoyed (if that is the right verb) for several years now. It is also the figure that, according to a former Guardian editor of fairly recent vintage, is more than adequate provided that that …
Read More »Chief Justice Archie should stand firm; Fixin T&T alleges that Law Association is political tool
“The actions of the [Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago] are serving to further undermine confidence in the very institution it claims to be seeking to protect. Any success realised will set a bad and extremely dangerous precedent.” Fixin’ T&T slams the Law Association of Trinidad and Tobago (LATT) for its …
Read More »DALY BREAD: Why we’re right to challenge power—be it a Permanent Secretary, President or Chief Justice
In relation to the huge Marcia mess created by the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC), there is no need to explain again the critical difference between the powers vested by law to deal with errant public officials and the complementary role of public opinion. Robust public opinion encourages accountability …
Read More »Law Association defends Justice Seepersad against political bias allegations, scolds media
“We urge the Registry to take steps to ensure that any such suspected attempts at forum shopping are immediately brought to the attention of the judiciary so that remedial action can be taken. “We ask the print media to be mindful that blindly repeating what is being peddled on social …
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