The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

KOFHE Goodman’s lawyer is pleased to have been ordered to appear before Supreme Court Justice Bernard Turner to explain his conduct before the judge during the Goodman trial.

Geoffrey Farquharson commented on the matter outside Ansbacher House, Bank Lane following the death sentence handed down to Goodman, and the order by the court for him as the lawyer to appear on November 26.

“I’m pleased about it because it gives me an opportunity to do some things which I have been hard pressed to find a means to initiate,” he said.

“I am going to have to ask the judicial and legal services commission to consider, for several reasons, whether Mr Turner is an appropriate person to sit on the bench here.”

“And that will give me an opportunity to begin that process, I am pleased about that,” he said.

Farquharson represented the 39-year-old Goodman who stood trial between April 17 and August 2 in connection with the murder of Marco Archer. Goodman was found guilty despite pleading not guilty to the murder charge he faced.

Between September 23 and September 28, 2011, Goodman killed 11-year-old Marco Archer of Brougham Street.

In a particular instance during the trial on July 18, Justice Turner told lawyer Farquharson that he was in contempt of court because of his conduct and choice of words on the 60th day of the murder trial.

The lawyer appeared to be angered over his missing notes and exclaimed that the Bahamian people were wondering what was going on in the trial. He said they needed to know what Bernard Turner was doing.

“You are in contempt of court!” Justice Turner told the lawyer.

“Very well, m’lord, if that’s what the court believes, the court knows what to do!” the lawyer replied.

The judge, however, said the court would stay its hand on that issue “in the interest of justice to your client.” He gave the lawyer 45 minutes to get the notes he needed to question forensic analyst, Marisa Roe, who was to give evidence through live link video-conferencing.

Three weeks before this, Mr Farquharson had applied for the judge to recuse himself from the case because of what the lawyer claimed was a conflict of interest.

However, the judge dismissed the application and the subsequent request for Mr Farquharson to withdraw as Goodman’s attorney.