Foreman discharged in case against 2 lawyers

Senior State prosecutor Wayne Rajbansie will open the State’s case today against two lawyers and a bailor charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

His opening address will be made before Justice Prakash Moosai and a jury of six women and three men in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court. When Rajbansie was called to open his case yesterday, he explained to Justice Moosai that he was not ready because the defence team was objecting to certain things in his opening statement and he needed to consider them. The Court then adjourned the matter to today. But before doing so, it had earlier discharged the foreman and replaced him with an alternate juror.

The judge told the jury that the foreman was discharged on a matter of law that had arisen and that they should not speculate about why he was discharged. He reminded members of the jury that they will be the judges of the facts of the case but on matters of law, he will have to deal with it, and that they should not bother themselves with such matters. Attorneys Ken Wright, Mervyn Mitchell and bailor Patrick Hannibal are charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice by using two false deeds, which they purported to be good, to secure the bail of Maximo Jose Gonzales, between October 31 to December 25, 1996. Gonzales, a Venezuelan, was in custody on charges of drug trafficking.

Representing Wright are Theodore Guerra SC, Pamela Elder SC, Gilbert Petersen SC and Margaret Rose. Mitchell is represented by Osbourne Charles SC and Ravi Rajcoomar while Hannibal’s attorney is Colin Selvon. Rajbansie and Natasha George are representing the State.