Chief Justice Ivor Archie and Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) members are expected to come under stiff criticism today, when the Law Association meets to discuss its no confidence motion in him and the JLSC.
But on the eve of the meeting yesterday, Archie’s administrative secretary, Sherlanne Pierre, issued a letter on his behalf to association president Douglas Mendes, SC, seeking clarify “misinformation” in the public domain which may have been the basis of the meeting.
The meeting stemmed from a petition signed by over 60 members claiming they have lost confidence in Archie and the JLSC over their handling of the fiasco arising out of the short-lived judicial appointment of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.
In the letter, which was obtained by the T&T Guardian, Pierre said Archie was confident members of the association would conduct legal research on the issue before making a “well informed” decision later today.
“However, as many of the questions posed appear to be based on a mis-apprehension of roles, responsibilities and reporting lines, I am required to direct your attention to same on his behalf in the hope that it would be of some assistance,” Pierre wrote.
Pierre said the JLSC has the responsibility to inform the President of judicial vacancies and recommend appointments but noted that the timing of the appointments and actual process is within the remit of the President.
“If a prospective appointment date fixed by the Office of the President turns out to be unrealistic, only the candidate would have that information and it is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the Director of Personnel Administration (DPA) and the Office of the President,” Pierre said.
Responding to questions on why the JLSC did not verify whether Ayers-Caesar had unfinished cases, Pierre said the case management system at the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court is not computerised and such checks would have required a manual check of her case sheets and records.
“At the risk of sounding repetitive, the commission would have had no such power and the Chief Justice, in his administrative role, would have no reason to deploy scarce judicial resources in such a task, as there would have been no reason at the time to doubt Ayers-Caesar’s professionalism,” Pierre said.
Pierre also addressed criticism of the Judiciary’s decision to have all 53 of Ayers-Caesar’s cases restarted. The proposed move has met with disquiet from some members of the legal fraternity, who claimed it was taken without proper consultation and was illegal.
“The Judiciary has adopted the only feasible option currently open to it, which is to reschedule the matters before other magistrates and afford them priority,” Pierre said.
Pierre also said suggestions made for the cases to be discontinued or to go straight to trial instead or restarting the preliminary inquiries were not within Archie’s remit but within that of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The T&T Guardian understands the association expects a record attendance at the meeting, which is scheduled to take place at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain at 3 pm. The T&T Guardian was told a preliminary motion will be moved at the start of the meeting to determine if the media should be allowed to listen in and report on the closed-door discussion.
The meeting is scheduled to take place hours after the majority of cases left unfinished by Ayers-Caesar come up for hearing before her successor, acting Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle-Caddle in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ Court.
The hearing will be the first time those affected, most of whom are charged with murder, are officially informed of the Judiciary’s decision to start over their cases.
