Cuban Light Bulb trial: No Case to Answer

o Case To Answer

On Monday, March 24, 2014, Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey upheld the No Case Submissions (NCS) made by Deborah Martin, Attorney-at-Law (on behalf of Kern Spencer) and Attorney-at-Law K.D. Knight, Q.C. (on behalf of Coleen Wright). She ruled that both had no case to answer and were therefore free to go.

The Prosecution was led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Paula Llewellyn Q.C.. The learned DPP openly disagreed with the decision that a prima facie case was not made out. Indeed on every available opportunity she has vigorously exclaimed (repeating bits of the Reply) that there was a "mountain of evidence" and that the Senior RM was wrong in law as there was no doubt that there was a case to answer.

This has ignited a conflagration of public perceptions about the administration of justice in Jamaica. For the mass public something seems fundamentally wrong with the system, given the length of time, the postponement of other cases, the amount of man-hours involved in the preparation and execution of the case and at the end only to be told that there is no case to answer. It seem a colossal waste of time and scarce resources, if not incompetence/corruption!

The situation is compounded further by the partisan political genesis. The "scandal" was first brought to public attention by a Minister of Government in the Parliament. Kern Spencer, a former junior Minister of Energy, was reduced to tears and had to be restrained by his opposition colleagues from making a rebuttal. Coleen Wright was at the operative time his personal assistant. The mass media captured sensational bits of the trial. Indeed this was a government minister on trial for corruption and money laundering stemming from the distribution of a gift from the Government and People of Cuba.

We have decided to post the substance of each No Case Submission(NCS) and the Crown's Reply. We do so without comment on the merits or otherwise of each. To complete the picture, "The Ruling" by Snr. RM Judith Pusey will also be posted. The objective is to assist in getting a better understanding of the arguments advanced by learned Counsel. A No Case Submission is a very technical exercise unfamiliar to those not schooled in law.

For the general public there must be something or someone to answer. If there is no case, then the DPP has to account for professional incompetence and misconduct. If the RM is wrong, then the whole process of the selection, training, continuous education, assessment & monitoring of our judges is in need of urgent review. The remedy cannot be the provision of the right of appeal to be extended to the Prosecution.That may be an important spoke in the wheel: however, there is a myriad of problems besetting the current criminal justice system.

Dudus:The Extradition Of Jamaica's #1 Drug Don

We have posted the 3 book reviews that have been published in the Jamaican newspapers. There is now available on Youtube an interview done in late 2018. Below is the introduction by Angry People Smiling: "Dr Paul Ashley, Attorney-at-Law and Political Commentator, published Dudus: The Extradition of Jamaica's #1 Drug Don, a book which recounts the "Machinations of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) to delay and frustrate the extradition of Jamaica's premier drug lord, Christopher 'Dudus' Coke." To achieve that goal, Dr Ashley went to primary sources and published transcripts from both, the Manatt, Phelps and Phillips and West Kingston Commissions of Enquiry. Documents are scattered over the seven chapters. Dr Ashley provides an overview of this watershed 2010 event then examines the confidentiality breach, the delays and tactics, the machinations of both the governments of Jamaica and USA, and finally, the escape and capture of Dudus, who was wanted t

DEA: Book Review #3

The third book review of "Dudus: The Extradition of Jamaica's #1 Drug Don" was by Dr. Canute Thompson under the caption "Naming politicians who 'hug up' criminals' published in The Jamaica Observer , Monday, December 03, 2018: "Young, outspoken, feisty, up-and-coming Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) heavyweight Matthew Samuda has threatened to name politicians who are “hugging up” criminals. Should Samuda follow through on his threat (promise) — and I doubt he will — Jamaica would surely benefit. And so, for Jamaica's sake, I urge Samuda to do as he has promised. But, even if he does not do so publicly, I suggest that he provides the report, with the evidence he has, to the police. Samuda's threat has led me to reflect on a recent book written by Dr Paul Ashley — a feisty and outspoken socio-political provocateur, cynic, and attorney-at-law. The book is entitled Dudus: The Extradition of Jamaica's # 1 Drug Don. This book may provide some

DEA: Book Review. #2

The second book review of "Dudus: The Extradition of Jamaica's #1 Drug Don" was by Allan Douglas published in The Jamaica Observer, Monday, October 01, 2018 entitled 'The extradition of Dudus': "I have just finished reading Dr Paul Ashley's book, Dudus: The Extradition of Jamaica's #1 Drug Don, a seven-chapter, 176-page scholarly work recording a significant event in Jamaica's history. It is very unfortunate the book will not be available for sale at bookstores or other outlets, but will only be accessible from libraries. In my opinion, the author could have spent more time researching the main character, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, and providing more details about him. To understand this character properly he must be placed in context. The book needed greater elaboration of his personal life — his boyhood days, the loves and influences that made him the person he became. One was left to rely on American intelligence reports that lacked substa

Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

Search This Blog