ROSEAU, Dominica, Dec 11, CMC -The Organization of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA) has described as “most unfortunate and disturbing” the recent statements made by National Security and Legal Affairs Minister, Rayburn Blackmoore, in opposing the granting of bail for double murder accused, Johnathan Lehrer.
The OCCBA said it was joining with its colleagues and members of the legal profession of the Dominican Bar in the standing against the “unfortunate utterances” by Blackmoore.
“We are compelled to remind the learned Minister that responsible governance and Ministerial responsibility must never sacrifice the Rule of Law, constitutional principles, the presumption of innocence as well as the respect for regional justice systems and our judiciary on the altar of inflammatory rhetoric which can only serve to undermine our entrenched human rights and legal systems,” said the OCCBA in a statement signed by its president, Donovan C. Walker.
Last week, Blackmoore called on the Dominica Bar Association (DBA) to retract its statement accusing him of interference in the independence of the judiciary afte it has said “this type of public criticism by a Minister of government of a judicial decision unnecessarily casts a shadow over the independence of the judiciary and risks eroding public confidence in our legal system”.
Blackmoore said he was shocked by the response from the DBA and that it should look closely at the law on judicial independence, insisting that there was nothing wrong with the statements on bail granted to Lehrer, an American hotelier, accused of the double murder of Quebec philanthropist Daniel Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand
In December last year, murder charges were filed against Lehrer, 57, and his co-accused 62-year-old Robert Snyder Jr., over the deaths of Langlois and Marchand.
The Americans were not required to enter a plea in the magistrate’s court, since murder is an indictable offence and can only be tried before a judge and jury at the High Court.
The prosecution alleges that between November 29 and December 2, 2023, the two Americans murdered Langlois and Marchand. Their bodies were found incinerated in a car near Gallion, in the south of the island where they owned a hotel. Langlois and Marchand had been reported missing for several days.
Last month, Justice Williams outlined several conditions under which bail could be given to Lehrer, including a one million dollar (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bond with a proper and suitable surety.
The preliminary inquiry into the murders began this week, but has since been adjourned to February 10 next year. The prosecution has returned to the High Court on Wednesday in a bid to get the judge to revoke the bail.
In its statement, the OCCBA said it wanted to reiterate that “responsible political leadership must recognise that our Commonwealth Caribbean legal systems and Constitutions are all designed and equipped to protect and preserve” certain basic human rights and freedoms to varying degrees and in different manners.
It said these are that any person who is arrested and charged with a criminal offense is presumed innocent and should be treated accordingly as well as any person awaiting trial and kept in custody shall be entitled to bail on reasonable conditions unless sufficient cause is shown for keeping him in custody;
The OCCBA said that the State and by extension its leaders must observe and respect human rights and that they must also observe and respect the Rule of Law.
“We encourage and urge Minister Blackmoore, indeed all Ministers of Government throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean, in the discharge of their leadership duties, to be thorough and fair, being ever-mindful of their conduct, comments, and remarks lest they convey an impression that their conduct is demeaning to their office and is unduly prejudicial
“Good political governance dictates that the political directorate must exercise its formidable and immense influence and powers responsibly, respectfully, and in a circumspect manner,” the OCCBA said.
The regional law association said it was taking “this opportunity to remind the Government of Dominica, indeed all Commonwealth Caribbean Governments, of the duty of the executive to ensure that our judicial systems benefit from proper accommodation and facilities and that our courts are properly staffed and resourced, to adequately tackle the many challenges, including the huge backlog of cases languishing at civil and criminal branches of various court systems.
“We remind citizens of the Commonwealth Caribbean that the Judiciary is a separate and independent branch of government that should not be unduly interfered with by the political directorate.”
CMC/fg/ir/2024