AG deplores State attorneys’ action

ATTORNEY GENERAL John Jeremie deplored yesterday’s shutdown of the Port-of-Spain High and Magistrates’ Courts by State attorneys in protest of better wages and conditions. Speaking with reporters during the tea break in the Senate, the AG said while the attorneys’ dispute is longstanding and “can be defended in principle,” he could not agree with the way they were trying to advance “a legitimate claim.”

Jeremie explained that during the break in last week’s sitting of the Senate, he spoke extensively with legal officers who apprised him of their situation. The AG said that “much goes on in the bureaucracy of the State” before the attorneys’ proposals could be acceded to but he was doing what he could “to press their proposals forward with dispatch.”

Jeremie, however, added that he could not understand any attempt to hinder the work of his Ministry in any way while this process was ongoing. However, while legal matters involving State attorneys in the Port-of-Spain courts were not heard yesterday, a constitutional motion against the State by a death row prisoner proceeded in the San Fernando First Civil Court with a private attorney retained by the State, Ian Benjamin, delivering arguments before Justice Peter Jamadar.

The battery of State attorneys from the Office of the AG advising Benjamin were not present in court. Benjamin apologised to Jamadar for their absence and the judge accepted it, noting the longstanding concerns of State attorneys. Former AG Glenda Morean had promised State attorneys that their concerns would be addressed expeditiously.