When there is lack of morality in the affairs of the Judiciary, do we expect moral judgment from those inclined to criminality?

IMAAM IQBAL HYDAL Felicity

The people of Tobago depend heavily on the inter-island service, so it’s really Tobagonians who are being punished.

However, it is my view (and that of many other ferry users) that the presence of security officers makes little difference in the behaviour of rowdy and destructive passengers other than adhering to the no-smoking zones.

In the presence of a full security shift, passengers often play loud music and put up their feet on the chairs and tables while the officers pretend not to notice.

A fellow passenger had better not try to correct them or ask them to lower their music, lest he/she be told where to get off.

There are signs indicating that radios should not be played loudly yet one often has to endure another passenger’s noise throughout the trip.

People often use obscene language and are raucous and disruptive to other passengers in the presence of the security officers who look at you as though to say, “Not me, I’m not getting involved.” I applaud the captains who decide to sail without the officers, because I’m sure they know about the misbehaviour which occurs in the presence of officers.

Since the sailings can continue without the security officers who see it fit to “work to rule,” maybe not as many of them are needed now.

CAROLYN CORRIAN Carnbee

Clifford Llewellyn, 54, a mechanic will now be registered as a sex offender in accordance with Part Three of the Sexual Offences Act, Chapter 11:28.

Llewellyn, a mechanic, appeared before Senior Magistrate Gillian Scotland on Thursday in the Arima Magistrates Court to answer to the charges.

Llewellyn was found guilty of the two charges and sentenced to six months for the first offence and 18 months for the second, but will only serve 18 months, as the sentences were ordered to run concurrently.

Police arrested Llewellyn after the parents of an eight-yearold boy and a ten-yearold girl reported that he had exposed the children to pornography and a sexual act while they were at his home.

As Magistrate Scotland handed down the sentence, she lamented the psychological effect such incidents had on the lives of children and the prevalence of such abuse against the vulnerable in society, namely children.

He lamented that many of them had been festering in jail unjustly simply because they could either not afford the bail allotted to them or because they could not afford legal counsel.

No one would disagree that prolonged imprisonment for such reasons is manifestly unjust.

It exposed an insidious type of inequity that weighed heavily against the poor and vulnerable.

When I reflect on the archbishop’s deliberate silence today, on the prospect that 53 prisoners may have to suffer the anguish of having their cases restarted de novo, I wonder privately how this affront to justice has not reignited the archbishop’s fervour. Some of these unfortunate souls have waited as long as eight years for their matter to be heard in court.

Just as their issues began to wax warm, the Judiciary has seen it fit to douse the rekindling of their hope with cold water.

As far as I am aware, Archbishop Harris has neither offered comment nor suggested a solution to this act of apparent judicial incompetence. That said, I preemptively offer my apologies to the prelate if I am in error.

One cannot fault a man for his silence since his thoughts remain his. On the other hand, a radio host has used his platform to suggest that the sentiment that Chief Justice Ivor Archie should demit office took root in racism.

The leader of the Anglican Church has also privately opined that citizens must not be too eager for the authors of this injustice against those in captivity to be fired, since those in error were people of “impeccable character.” The radio host suggested that the people who continue to demand Archie’s immediate resignation allegedly harbour hidden “racial” motives.

Of course if one were to isolate the Chief Justice and treat the relevant issues as though they pertained to him alone, then he stands out as Trinidadian with African roots.

If one looks at the entire picture, however, then one would discern that the same call is being directed at all the members of the present JLSC. Before the advent of E Koylass, that body comprised two men with Caucasian lineage and a woman who appears to be of mixed descent.

So I would like to ask the radio host to define the type of “racism” that he is seeing. Is it anti-African, anti-mixed race or anti-Caucasian? Why “isolate” Archie from the rest? He is the head of an inept organisation.

Further to this, I heard the radio host suggest that “they want an Indian Chief Justice.” I do not know who “they” might be. He also lamented the fact that even Afro-Trinidadians in the Law Association called for Archie’s resignation.

I would have thought that level- headed men judged the actions of their fellow men by considerations that extended beyond simply the way they look. It is a tragedy that this level of ignorant bigotry exists in present-day Trinidad.

STEVE SMITH via email

Speaking with reporters at a press-briefing at the TDC office, Maritime Plaza, yesterday, Remy said the CWU would observe developments closely to ensure all parties uphold their end of the bargain from a recommendation made by the Industrial Court, and called on Minister of Tourism Shamfa Cudjoe to honour her promise and ensure that workers are given appropriate consideration during the formation of the regulatory authority that will be replacing the TDC.

“We are calling on the Government to dig below the surface and let good sense prevail in this situation to ensure that we do not see the end of the tourism sector in Trinidad and Tobago,” he said.

“A letter again went out to the ministers today calling for an urgent meeting particularly in the face of correspondence that we have seen that there is a new company that they are going to form and the minister must hold fast to her commitment on communications that she had with me that they are going to give the TDC employees the opportunity to work in the new company.” Remy added that despite reassurances from TDC chairman Jerry Hospedales promising severance packages, no such discussions have been held with the CWU, and warned government that the company’s dissolution could create more harm than good for the tourism sector in TT, citing additional operating costs and a loss of skilled labour that would arise from the shift.

“We keep hearing them talking about packages. Up to now the CWU has not received any official communications from the TDC, nor the government, nor the board, about any terms and conditions that they wish to propose relative to what they want to do going into the future.

“In the face of that you want to take all the professional people in the tourism industry and put them into oblivion. We are also going to have an increase in operational costs, a problem in connectivity between these three disparate units that will work against the best interests of the government.” In March, Tourism Minister said that the TDC would be dissolved and replaced by two separate regulatory entities that will be charged with managing activities related to developing tourism over Trinidad and Tobago respectively. The move was met by resistance by members of the CWU, who have since called on Cabinet to reverse the decision.

They got everything from smooth jazz to classic jazz to calypso and groovy jazz.

Hosted by the St James Community Improvement Committee (CIC), though the show got off to a late start, that was soon forgotten when Elan Parle took the stage and thoroughly entertained with their repertoire.

What was most noticeable and a pleasure to patrons was that bandleader Michael Low Chew Tung selected songs mostly from local musicians beginning with Tan Tan by Fitz Vaughan Bryan, followed by Maya Mosquito from Michael Boothman.

Though After Sunrise was an original of Sergio Mendes, it was made popular in TT by Gene Lawrence.

And the flute and pan solos were a joy to listen to, as was the drum solo at the end of Jam Up.

Also on Jazz night, WeBeat honoured Woo Ling’s Supermarket, a family-owned business of three generation spanning over 60 years. Brent Woo Ling who accepted the award on behalf of his parents thanked organisers and the St James community for the recognition. He said: “We are eternally grateful to the people of St James for their continued support spanning over seven decades. We are truly happy to be a part of this vibrant community.

We thank God for His blessings and we look forward to continue serving the people of St James and its environs.” The family received hampers from HADCO, Nestle and Coca Cola, and also a cheque.

The live entertainment restarted with Jason “Fridge” Seecharan who sang a number of classic R&B numbers that had some in the audience singing along.

Singer Moricia Cagan who was also the MC gave a lovely rendition of You Make Me Feel Brand New (The Stylistics), together with her partner Nigel O’Connor.

Pelham Goddard and Roots followed and delighted with their repertoire. Their first selection, Feel So Good (Chuck Mangione) featuring Joel Bonaparte on trumpet and Jovan Ochoa on guitar, totally mesmerised the audience.

Original Roots members Goddard on keyboard, Vonrick Maynard (drums), Bonaparte and Vernon Headley (congas), along with Dennis Smith (pan), Patrick Mc Cain (bass) and Ochoa continued with fantastic versions of Mr Magic (George Benson) and Hearts of Fire (Earth Wind & Fire), before being joined by Natalie Yorke to sing Alphie (Dionne Warwick), Smoke Gets In Your Eyes (The Platters) and My Spirit is Music (Ella Andall). They closed with a flourish with Nappy Mayers’ Old Time Days, which patrons sang and danced to, and Rise by Herb Alpert.

The Police Services Band gave a stellar performance to crown off a wonderful night of entertainment.

First, with their conventional band they performed a medley of People (Barbra Streisand) and I Feel Pretty From West Side Story, then followed with Trinita (Gue Pequeno) and Moonlight Serenade (Glenn Miller).

Then the TT PS Steelband thrilled with Bazodee (Ray Holman), Breezin’ (George Benson) and One Note Samba (Antônio Carlos Jobim).

However, the playing of current hit song I Feel It Coming (The Weeknd) had the crowd swaying in all directions, with sheer ecstasy on their faces, which did not stop with the playing of Caribbean Connection (Merchant).

Both bands then joined forces to deliver their final number, a medley of 12 Bar Joan (Kitchener) and In the Mood (Glenn Miller).

Some danced all the way out of the venue.

Event organisers admitted on Thursday evening that the event had not been advertised well and that may have been one reason for the near-non-existent turnout.

But Deosaran told reporters, “It takes a lot of work to bring the public out, because you are fighting the public’s lack of confidence.

This has been done over and over so many times before, without any result. So the public might just say, ‘Why go another time?’” The meeting was scheduled to begin at about 6.30 pm. Officials intended to present their findings from examining police performance, the professional integrity of the police service and its level of accountability.

They hoped they would be able to use the people who attended the meeting as a sounding board to determine whether increases in technology and manpower would be a necessary and welcome improvement in the service. The manpower audit committee was also seeking feedback to see how satisfied the public was with the police’s performance, and how they believed the police could improve their performance.

Newsday also spoke with Ronald Frederick, the only member of the public at the meeting.

Frederick, a taxi driver and vice president of the St Ann’s Taxi Drivers’ Association, said he heard about the event through a mutual friend, but did not see any advertisement for it. He said he came to the meeting to ask for a higher police presence on the roads in St Ann’s to stymie the number of PH drivers working the route. However, none of that happened, because no one came.

He must bear in mind that even with the recent find of more gas, our natural resources are not going to last much longer. Not only that but with the falling prices of gas and oil worldwide, this country will find it difficult to maintain its financial stability if it continues to rely solely on the income from oil and gas. Poverty will in the meantime grow at an alarming rate, which in the end will lead to more crime and unrest.

It is now essential that the PM puts diversification at the top of his list to ensure the survival of this nation, as sooner rather than later our politicians will have to kiss goodbye to easy money flowing into the Treasury.

GA MARQUES via email

“He is not responsible for nor has any control over the assignment of cases to his docket,” the statement, signed by Association president Douglas Mendes, SC, said yesterday. This follows allegations in a newspaper which questioned how Seepersad came to be assigned to three cases brought by lawyers closely associated with the United National Congress.

Mendes went on to note, as had the Judiciary on Thursday, that assignment of cases to judges is done through an electronic system administered by the High Court Civil Registry. “Neither can any inference be properly drawn from the alacrity with which he approaches his judicial functions or the efficiency with which he discharges them,” Mendes said.

Mendes also warned the media to be mindful that blindly repeating what is pedalled on social media, “serves only to legitimize unsubstantiated statements of persons who are not bound by a journalistic code of ethics.” Mendes made no specific reference, but on Wednesday the Trinidad Guardian published a front page story headlined ‘Judge Jitters’ which spoke of a, ‘dangerous cocktail of politics mixing with the judiciary’, and used social media posts in its story which raised questions and ridiculed Seepersad, for his case assignments although he was in Tobago, and his ability to pen a 22-page ruling within hours.

Only yesterday, the Trinidad Express, in a front page story, reported on a recently appointed judge’s social media postings, alleging some of his tweets on the Twitter platform were about women’s bodies and pornography.

Several tweets from High Court Judge Kevin Ramcharan’s Twitter account were published in the article.

Ramcharan was appointed in April along with former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar and former magistrate Avason Quinlan-Williams.

SOCIAL MEDIA NOT CREDIBLE His tweets were said to be dated after his Supreme Court appointment on April 12. In his statement yesterday, Mendes said, “Tweets and social media posts may not be credible sources of news. Otherwise responsible members of the profession and society as a whole ought to also desist from posting, re-tweeting, sharing or circulating online messages, which unless substantiated, could only serve to undermine public confidence in the judiciary.” In his brief statement, Mendes called on the Registrar of the High Court to ‘take steps to ensure’ that any suspected attempts of ‘forum shopping’ were immediately brought to the attention of the Judiciary so that remedial action can be taken.

Allegations of ‘forum shopping’ – a practice adopted by litigants to get their cases heard in a particular court that is likely to provide a favourable judgment – were levelled against attorneys representing former UNC Senator Devant Maharaj.

These allegations were vehemently denied by Maharaj’s lead counsel Anand Ramlogan, SC, who said it was ‘preposterous and ridiculous’ to suggest there was anything untoward in the filing of the high court actions which challenged the implementation of the property tax and the composition of the JLSC.

“The possibility that an attorney may seek to manipulate the system by filing and re-filing proceedings until it is assigned to a judge of his liking is also beyond the particular judge’s control,” Mendes said.

Both of Maharaj’s cases were presided over by Seepersad, who granted injunctions in favour of the former politician. These orders have since been overturned by the appeal court. The coincidence of the same judge hearing the same claimant’s case over a matter of weeks have raised eyebrows, however, the procedure for the assignment of cases to judge has been clarified by the Judiciary in a statement on Thursday.

On May 25, six days after Justice Seepersad granted the first injunction in the property tax case, the attorney for the Chief State Solicitor Department, wrote to Supreme Court Registrar Jade Rodriguez questioning how the case came to be assigned to Seepersad.

The Registrar provided answers to the queries on June 5, the day before the appeal court heard the property tax appeals filed by the Commissioner of Valuations and the Attorney General.

In her response, Rodriguez said Maharaj’s judicial review application was first filed at the Registry of the Supreme Court sub-registry in San Fernando on May 18 at 3.18 pm – the same day Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced an extension to the deadline for citizens to file their document.

Maharaj’s claim was given a case number – CV2017-01837 – and was docketed to Justice Robin Mohammed. Rodriguez said the next day at 8.56 am, a notice of withdrawal was filed. Maharaj has said he gave these instructions to his attorneys since he needed to reconsider his case following the minister’s announcement of an extension.

CASE RE-FILED “From an administrative standpoint, it made better sense to discontinue and re-file the claim with the necessary changes,” Maharaj said. Rodriguez said a new ex-parte application was filed a few minutes earlier and this was given case number CV2017-01839 and docketed to Seepersad.

She explained that cases when filed in the civil court office are assigned at random to a judge selected by the computer automated docketing system. The Registrar added at the time of filing, no oral or written request was made by Maharaj’s attorneys but the attorneys asked for a hearing that day.

She provided an explanation on the process involved in filing a judicial review application. “The filing of an application for leave for judicial review is customarily treated with some urgency wherein the counter clerk enquires from the attorney’s clerk as to whether there is any urgency as to the date of hearing.

This information is then communicated by the counter clerk to the listing unit. “I am informed that this procedure was followed on the morning of the May 19, 2017, when CV20101839 was filed and the request was made orally by the attorneys’ clerk for the matter to be heard on the same day.

This information was communicated to the listing unit,” she said. In her eight page response, Rodriguez noted the judge’s Judicial Support Officer (JSO) was emailed with the notice and at approximately 9.37 am, the file was collected and the JSO Tracey Headley was instructed by Seepersad to arrange a court and to contact Maharaj’s attorneys.

This was done. Seepersad commenced hearing at 11.30 am at the San Fernando High Court, in open court. The order staying the implementation of the property tax was granted at 6 pm.

Rodriguez also said that attorneys for the Commissioner of Valuations were sent an email at 2.07 pm.

Told that attorneys for the State were informed by court staff that no Registrar was present when they made frantic efforts to ascertain whether an ex parte application was being heard, Rodriguez said although she and the assistant registrars were attending a seminar hosted by the Judicial Education Institute of the Judiciary, they were all available via telephone to deal with any urgent applications and were on call to deal with Maharaj’s matter.

She said at approximately 5.20 pm upon receiving notification that the case was still ongoing in the San Fernando Court, assistant Registrar Priscilla Rampersad proceeded to the San Fernando court and signed the judge’s order at 7 pm.

She also noted that the assistant Registrar did not place the penal clause on any of the five office copies of the judge’s order which were requested by the attorney.

According to reports, his body was discovered on Gail Street at about 11 am. Police believe Phillip’s killers first tried to abduct him and put him in the trunk. Phillip struggled, and was trying to escape, but the gunmen shot him multiple times and escaped.

Police are still trying to find a motive behind his murder. In 2011, Phillip surrendered to police with the help of a TV show host as police were looking for him in relation to gun and ammunition charges.