In these long-suffering Isles, that make up the State of Grenada as part of the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) - we have had so many un-savoury happenings and bad publicity over the years, that it would have been reasonable to assume we had more than our fair share.


But for some quite baffling continuing punishment, we seem to come up with more and more outrageous “Firsts,” time and time again - with each new eye-opener making the previous shocker look like no big deal.


With all that series of bad headlines we have received over the first Grenadian Offshore Banking scandal, and the implications that cropped
up thereafter; as well as the scandals surrounding those crooks and con-men, from Kozeny to Reistener, that we seem to harbour around our Foreign relations Desk - one would have thought that enough was more than enough. But not so with our penchant for more firsts.


The Director of Public Prosecutions Office (DPP) seem to attract more attention from the current Government than any other in the System of
Government departments.

Maybe it is because the Government’s Advisor to every Department, from Cabinet, to Attorney General, to Police, to Financial Unit etc., is the
ex-DPP, Hugh Wildman, who was refused further appointment by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) some years ago - yet he proceeded to sign Indictments to have accused persons tried in the Assizes, and many werethrown out of Court before the mal-practice was arrested and corrected.



And even when the Government wanted to appoint Mr. Wildman as Attorney General, rather than put him in the Senate and make him a political Attorney General - as he was qualified to be since he is a Commonwealth Citizen – the powers-that-be chose to go via the same JLSC, so that if he was appointed as a Public Officer Attorney General he could also have held the office of D.P.P. The JLSC saw through that under hand scheme and threw out the recommendation for the said appointment.



As fate and ill-fortune seem to follow everything connected to the Government’s dealings, in its mis-guided assumption that Mr. Wildman is Some “Super Lawyer” - who may also be holding some deep seated secrets for someone in authority - at the same time this politically motivated Magistrate Court Summons was being served on the D.P.P., the High Court was delivering its Judgment in the Judicial Review proceedings Wildman had brought against the JLSC, and the decision went against him.

And as though that chap is a magnet for raising or attracting ridiculous controversies, and in the process always embarrassing the Government. He has appealed the Judge’s decision against him, which is his legal right, but at Tax-payers cost am sure, for the highly-priced Lawyer he
retains.

And once again he is accusing Judge Justice Davidson Baptiste, for Being Biased against him and in collusion with the Grenada Bar Association. Just as he had done against Justice Brian Alleyne, in another “First” at the time. I will come back to that scenario later on.

The Summons signed by Magistrate Patricia Mark, on the Application of the Defendant’s Lawyer in the case involving Police Officer “Balla” Noel, beats all Legal cock fight for absurdity.



The D.P.P. is personally prosecuting an Indictable case, for the Shooting incident involving the Policeman and some guy over a quarrel about some girl late last year. It had been reported some time ago, that “Balla” had tried to get his original Lawyer, Derek Sylvester, to take some form of action against the D.P.P., on the ground that he (DPP) was not legally appointed to continue to hold the position.Derek had declined and withdrew from the case, and “Balla” retained
the recently qualified female Attorney Mrs. Venescia Francis-Banfield.



Up to last week Friday no Witness had yet been called to give evidence in the case - and it is a Preliminary Inquiry, because the matter, if
shown to reach the required standard, must be sent to the Assizes for trial by Judge and Jury.


Now to summon the D.P.P. to give evidence for the Defendant, must mean that once the case for the Prosecution is completed by the D.P.P. - he can then be called to the witness stand to be led by the Lawyer for “Balla.” Because he is a witness for the person charged with the offence, he, as Prosecutor, must then cross-examine himself. Can anything be more absurd and ludicrous than that scenario? And to think that a Lawyer, as Magistrate, signed a Summons to bring about that state of affairs, in a serious Criminal matter - is enough to question her motivation.


And to take it one step further - what if the D.P.P. fails to attend Court on the day he is due to be called as a witness, will the Magistrate issue a Warrant to arrest and bring him before her? What utter legal nonsense in the making.



I understand that the Legal Supremo has said, that things like that legal comedy of errors happens in Jamaica all the time. Well I am not at all surprised, and can now fully understand why there were over Sixteen hundred Murders in that Country last year - as Law and Order had completely broken down. And to think that the Government is responsible for having the D.P.P. appointed to that position, and the Cabinet Legal Advisor is in front or behind the whole fiasco.


And to make bad matters worse, a Summons has also been served on the Commissioner of Police (C.O.P) to attend Court as a witness on behalf
of the Defendant/Accused - even though the case is brought in his name as the virtual complainant on behalf of the State and people.


Now back to Mr. Wildman’s Appeal against the Judge’s Ruling - in the case against the JLSC for refusing to recommend his appointment as Attorney General.


For whatever reason, and whoever fault it was, the said Judge was not paid his salary on time since December last year, and although those
concerned knew about the matter the problem was not resolved up to the end of March this year.


Lawyers got wind of the embarrassing situation and representations were made to those responsible to avoid a repetition, but up to the third of April this month the same thing happened again.


The Bar Association, through its President, wrote to the Registrar of the Court on the matter, and copied the Chief Justice as well as the
Permanent Secretary (P.S.) In the Ministry of Legal Affairs - pointing out that such a state of affairs can have serious consequences for the Administration of Justice, and is very embarrassing to the Judge (and his family) who cannot publicly speak for himself.


Such actions by Bars Association and the OECS Bar Association’s Executive have been normal practice for years - as the mouth piece for Judges who
are in very peculiar situations.At the OECS Executive level, we have even made representation for salary increases for Judges, and improved facilities in their Chambers and in the Courts where they operate.And those representations have always been to the Governments of the OECS who are responsible for the conditions of Judges.

Mr. Wildman obtained a copy of the letter from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, and in his Grounds of Appeal against the said Judge’s decision, he is challenging the decision, among other reasons, for Bias; because he claims the Judge was in collusion with the President of the Bar Association
and therefore did not give him (Wildman) a fair chance, since it was the Bar Association that had raised the objections against his appointment before the JLSC.That is bad enough, but he went on to challenge the said Judge’s impartiality in the matter - because, he alleges, the Judge is subject
to directions or the authority of the JLSC.

All Judges come under the same umbrella of Administration; and what is more, the Court of Appeal will be presided over by the Chief Justice who is also the person who heads the JLSC - so where is Mr. Wildman going for justice? He did say in his Press Conference, that he is going all the way to the Privy Council - where he is confident that he will come through victorious. Again, am sure, at our suffering Tax-payers costs for his highly priced Lawyers.

Now I ask you, in all seriousness and the greatest humility, is there no limit to the level of embarrassment we as a people have to stomach from
the actions and behaviour of this chap - while the Government’s political directorate look on and no doubt encourage and endorse these absurdities?

This is the second Judge of our High Court that Mr. Wildman is accusing of apparent Bias; and from all the statements made and actions taken by
those involved in the “Balla Noel” Criminal Case, it is without doubt all at the instigation and active advice of an individual who is highly paid by the State, but at the same time insulting and embarrassing Public Officers of the very State in the exercise and performance of their duties.
And you mean to tell me, that no member of the Cabinet of our Government, in control of our Nation’s affairs, can see and understand what is
being done in the name of that Government and on behalf of the people who elected them into office?

He maybe forgetting that it is the same Privy Council that said he was “playing fast and loose games with the Court - in the Dipcon Engineering
Case that the Government is paying maybe nearly Twenty Millions now, because of his performance in that case before Justice (now Atg. Chief Justice)
Brian Alleyne.

I can tell him something else about the Country where the Privy Council operates. If he was in England, as a member of any of the Inns of Court
that admits Barristers to the Bar - he would be hauled before the Benchers of his Inn for Contempt - based on his behaviour in the Press Conference he held last week about the Judge.

Mr. Prime Minister Mitchell, I feel sure you must have seen by now the seriousness of the antics and arrogance of your Cabinet Legal Adviser,
to be able to adopt the Grenadian Voice Editor’s advice, and do something about that chap’s behaviour, because it is not winning you friends, or influencing people.


And while some of the blame you laid at parents door, for the breakdown of civil behaviour in the Grand Mal/Fontenoy area may well be very true -
it must also be just as true, that while the Administration you head tolerates or encourages the behaviour of such a highly placed and priced
individual, those guys on the block or in the ghetto in your Constituency, or any other
Island wide, will continue to feel and to behave as he does - a law unto themselves.

You owe it to your people in North West St. George, and the people of Grenada as a whole, as well as the Legacy you would some day leave
behind you - to take this serious breakdown of the decency, and niceties, and respect for Law and Order and authority, that our Country and people
were once so proud of and very famous for - and do everything in your power to turn them around before it becomes too late, or too far gone.

This is one time, Mr. Prime Minister, that you cannot start the re-building of the “House” from the foundation but from the very top - because the
malaise and the termites are all around the very roof and working their way down to the bottom and the floor support.

We have had more than enough warnings from our next door neighbours and kith and kin from Trinidad and Tobago - of the negligence of those in Authority in the hey days, to stem the raging tides of conflict, confusion and dishonest behaviour at the very top of the PNM tree, and now-a-days they have all filtered down to the grass roots and un-stoppable.

And ironically, after all the big talk of Independence and Sovereignty and so forth - in their desperation those same big-talkers have to go cap in hand to the same Colonial Masters for salvation.

I urge you, Mr. Prime Minister, to take in front and avoid that
humiliation.