JEREMIE TAKES ON MARTINEAU

So said Attorney General John Jeremie in a letter to Martineau in which he commented on the Association’s motion to seek legal advice on whether he (Jeremie) committed a contempt of court.

Jeremie said Martineau who chaired the meeting should have set an example of impartiality and integrity particularly to the younger members of the profession (by stepping down for the meeting of Thursday July 20).

Jeremie said his address had been given only after he had obtained the advice of two eminent Senior Counsels (whom he did not name) particularly on the issue of contempt. Jeremie said his address was again reviewed — this time by Karl Hudson Phillip, QC and Sir Godfray Le Quesne, QC, subsequent to the Association’s decision to seek the view of Senior Counsel on whether he committed a contempt of court.

“Unsurprisingly, the opinions of all four members of the inner bar are consistent with my view that the question of contempt cannot possibly arise in the context of anything contained in my address to the nation,” the Attorney General said.

Jeremie expressed “deep concern” at the actions of the Law Association “in the wake of what appears to me to be the pursuit of ego at the expense of principle.” “This has never been more evident than at last Thursday’s meeting when your Association chose to engage in a debate (which lasted several hours) on a contempt motion against me instead of the crisis facing the administration of justice in this country,” he said.

Jeremie stated that the issue facing the nation was not whether the Attorney General went too far in discussing secrets widely known in the profession.

“The issue in this present crisis is singular, that is to say, whether the administration of justice (for which your client is responsible) has been brought into disrepute by the actions of your client,” the AG said.

Jeremie said the Law Associa-tion had done nothing to dispel the notion that there was one system of law for the rich and powerful and another for the poor and weak. On the contrary, the meeting of the Association had served to some extent to consolidate this notion.

Jeremie recalled that in June 1983 when Martineau was AG, the Bar Association and Law Society called for his resignation after he accused Justice Lennox Deyal-singh of embarking on an “unwarranted excursion in political fantasies” in his judgment in the case of the State versus Prakash Singh.