Deputy DPP Brown-Antoine:

DEPUTY Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Carla Brown-Antoine made it quite clear yesterday that she took no decision, neither did she advise the police to initiate criminal proceedings against Chief Justice Sat Sharma.

Brown-Antoine in an affidavit filed yesterday said she did not direct the police to prosecute the Chief Justice. According to the deputy DPP, the police are free to initiate any prosecution independent of the DPP, except in circumstances where by law, the consent of the DPP is required and this was not such a case.

This was the main ground of Brown-Antoine’s application yesterday to have the court set aside an order made on Monday, preventing the State from proceeding with criminal charges against Sharma.

Brown-Antoine, who was delegated with the authority in May to advise the police on allegations made against Sharma, filed a notice in the Port-of-Spain High Court seeking to set aside what Justice Judith Jones had granted two days before.

Douglas Mendes SC, Stuart Young and Michael Quamina went before Jones shortly after 4 pm yesterday. But the matter did not start as the judge wanted to hear from attorneys representing both the State and the Chief Justice. The hearing was over within 20 minutes. In the end, the judge transferred the case to the San Fernando High Court for 2 pm today.

In her grounds, Brown-Antoine said that at no time did anyone attempt to influence her in her actions and/or advice. She said she has never met Prime Minister Patrick Manning, nor has she ever had a conversation with him.

Brown-Antoine said she has spoken to Attorney General John Jeremie only once since the beginning of January and that was in connection with an administrative matter.

After DPP Geoffrey Henderson delegated the authority to her to advise on this matter, Brown-Antoine met with Assistant Commissioner Wellington Virgil, on May 16, who had been assigned to investigate allegations made by Chief Magistrate Sherman Mc Nicolls. She was provided with copies of statements made by Sir Timothy Cassel QC and the DPP.

Sometime later, Brown-Antoine received a police file containing 21 statements, including the notes of an interview with the Chief Justice and a statement from him. It also included a number of documents concerning a land transaction in which the Chief Magistrate was involved and statements dealing with the transaction.

On July 7, ACP Virgil submitted a report to the deputy DPP. Brown-Antoine perused all the information in the police file and came to the view that the common law offence of ‘attempting to pervert the course of public justice’ had been made out in relation to the Chief Justice and she agreed with the views expressed by ACP Virgil.

Brown-Antoine proceeded to draft a charge and later informed the Commissioner of Police by memo dated July 10. She was of the view that it was in the public interest that the Chief Justice be prosecuted. Despite the brief advice she gave to the commissioner, Brown-Antoine said she made no decision to institute criminal proceedings against Sharma. She said Virgil on his own came to the conclusion that a charge had been made out and that a prosecution should be brought.