The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

THE retrial is set to go ahead in the case of Andre Birbal, the Trinidadian and former teacher accused of having sex with two juvenile boys.

Justice Roy Jones yesterday struck out the application for an indefinite stay of the proceedings filed by Birbal, who has represented himself following his initial conviction, which was later quashed by the Court of Appeal.

Justice Jones ordered the jurors, who Birbal feared had been prejudiced by adverse media coverage, to return to the Supreme Court on October 16 at 2:30pm for the empanelling process and start of the trial, as there are still legal issues that have to be dealt with.

A week ago, the 48-year-old former arts and computer design instructor, filed a constitutional motion on the grounds that he had not been tried within a reasonable time. He also claimed that he was not likely to get a fair hearing as guaranteed by Article 20(1) of the Constitution.

He sought an indefinite stay on the matter after arguing that his retrial for the matter occurred outside the three years of his arrest and that there were adverse reports in the media following the Court of Appeal’s ruling that painted his character in a negative light, despite his conviction being squashed.

In response, prosecutor Darell Taylor said that the amended law for trial within a reasonable time does not apply to Birbal because the matter was ordered for a retrial by the appellate court less than a year ago. She said there had been no unreasonable delay.

She further noted that Birbal had provided no evidence to support his claim of adverse reports. 

The prosecutor said that even taking the reports into account, the judge had the authority to warn the jury to ignore anything they may have seen and read in the media regarding this case.

Justice Jones had deferred his ruling on motion to yesterday morning and ruled that there had been no unreasonable delay in the case and there was no reason to believe that he could not get a fair trial, notwithstanding the publicity the case had attracted.

Justice Jones then dismissed the application. However, the case did not proceed immediately as there were legal issues that had to be dealt with in the jury’s absence.

Birbal’s 2011 Supreme Court conviction of having unnatural sex with two of his male students in Eight Mile Rock was quashed by the appellate court in December 2012.

Court of Appeal judges ruled that the jury in Birbal’s case had not been properly directed by the judge on the possibility of corroboration and collusion between the two complainants in the case.

Justices Stanley John, Christopher Blackman and President Anita Allen also noted that the jury was not fully directed on the issue of Birbal’s character and having no previous arrests or convictions in his 23 years as a teacher, 18 of them in Grand Bahama.

Justice John, who delivered the court’s ruling on the appeal, noted that these were the two pressing concerns for the court and the primary reasons among others that it concluded that the verdict handed down to Birbal was unsafe.

It was returned to the Supreme Court in Nassau for retrial at the earliest convenience.

The case is expected to begin today.