By LAMECH JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Reporter
ljohnson@tribunemedia.net
A LAWYER who made prior accusations of bias on the part of a judge presiding over a judicial review will have until March 2017 to produce a defence, witnesses and/or evidence that said that the accusations, which were contained in a series of affidavits, were not contemptuous.
Keod Smith and his lawyer, Elliot Lockhart, QC, appeared before Justice Rhonda Bain for the start of his contempt hearing to show cause why he and then lawyer Derek Ryan should not be committed to prison concerning a series of affidavits filed by Mr Smith in January 2014.
Only Mr Smith was present in court by the time that the matter was called. Mr Ryan was a no-show.
Mr Lockhart, who represents the pair facing committal, asked Justice Bain for the particulars of the charge laid against his clients so that he would be able to defend them.
He said that having looked at the affidavits, he failed to see where the contempt had occurred.
“And so I go on a basic principle that an accused is entitled to know the case he’s called upon to meet,” Mr Lockhart said.
Justice Bain told Mr Lockhart to refer to the ruling handed down by her on December 16, 2014 where some of the contents of the affidavits were referred to.
Mr Lockhart, however, said: “One needs to know precisely what the allegations are.”
The judge referred the lawyer to the 10 offensive paragraphs in the fifth affidavit filed by Mr Smith, then five paragraphs that were in the sixth affidavit and another five in the seventh affidavit filed.
Mr Lockhart, during the two-hour hearing, then proceeded to go through each of them.
In January 2014, Mr Smith had filed a series of affidavits claiming that Justice Bain should recuse herself from a judicial review proceeding as she had made a series of decisions based on her affiliation with the Free National Movement (FNM).
Ten months later he attempted to withdraw the applications for the recusal of Justice Bain.
He alleged the judge once worked under former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, that she was appointed to a high-ranking position in the Attorney General’s Office because of her ties to the FNM and that her two sons were fathered by a person he claims is a close friend and advisor of Mr Ingraham.
Mr Smith claimed that Justice Bain had made several rulings in favour of attorney Fred Smith, QC, who in the past had been affiliated with the FNM, and “can only be explained as coming about as a result of her bias”.
Mr Lockhart held that the contents were not contemptuous and were either a matter of public record or could be proven if his clients were given adequate opportunity to do so.
He also said that Mr Ryan should be absolved from the proceedings because although his law firm’s name appeared on the affidavits, they had been created and filed by Mr Smith himself.
“I make an application for an opportunity to accord my clients to conduct their defence to the allegations. I’d like to thank you for the specificity provided today and now I can produce the witnesses who can make do on contests of affidavits that are without concrete proof,” he said.
The contempt hearing will continue on March 1, 2017 as the court and Mr Lockhart’s calendar is booked out and Mr Smith is reportedly unavailable to attend court from January 15, 2017 to February 18, 2017 due to a medical matter.
He has until December 13 to provide proof of this to the court.
The proceedings stem from a judicial review application filed by the Save The Bays – formerly the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay – which is challenging an application by Peter Nygard to further develop his Mayan-themed development in Lyford Cay and gain a lease for Crown land reclaimed from the sea without official approval.
The coalition claims that over the last 30 years, Nygard Cay has nearly doubled in size as a result of construction works undertaken without the appropriate permits and in a manner that had caused significant damage to the surrounding environment of Clifton Bay.
Mr Smith, QC, Romauld Ferreira, Crispin Hall and Adrian Gibson appear for STB.
Gia Moxey appeared with Mr Lockhart.
Tommel Roker held watching brief for Wayne Munroe, QC, who appears for the Crown in this matter.
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