Jury told to keep open mind in case against lawyers

Senior State prosecutor Wayne Rajbansie invited a jury yesterday to keep an open mind and listen attentively to all the witnesses in a case against the lawyers charged with conspiracy to pervert the course of public justice which started yesterday.  Rajbansie told the jury that they must view with caution the evidence of the State’s two key witnesses, Sharma Mackoon and Ramkissoon Singh, because they were granted immunity by the State. Making his opening address before Justice Prakash Moosai in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court, Rajbansie said that the jury will hear about immunity granted to witnesses. They must treat those witnesses’ evidence with extreme caution.

Rajbansie said that the jury will hear how the accused organised to have bail secured for a Venezuelan national, Maximo Jose Gonzales, who was charged with trafficking in cocaine. Mackoon and Ram-kissoon are alleged to have offered their properties for the bail, which the State says was done with false deeds. Before the State’s case got off the ground yesterday, it was hampered with several objections from the defence team. Attorneys Ken Wright, Mervyn Mitchell and bailor Patrick Hannibal are charge with perverting the course of public justice by using a false deed to secure the bail of Maximo Jose Gonzales, a Venezuelan national charged with cocaine trafficking.