Cassel wants to make opening address

BRITISH Queen’s Counsel Sir Timothy Cassel is in Trinidad to lead the prosecution team in the preliminary inquiry against ten persons and three companies charged with offences arising out of the Piarco Airport Development Project corruption probe. When he stood before Senior Magistrate Ejenny Espinet in the Port-of-Spain First Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Cassel made it quite clear that he wants to make an unprecedented opening address to the magistrate before the start of the inquiry. Cassel said he expects objection to his plan, but he is prepared to make legal submissions on the next occasion to try and convince the court that an opening address can be done. Magistrate Espinet adjourned the inquiry to September 8 to hear these submissions.

Appearing in court yesterday were Steve Ferguson, former chairman of Maritime Insurance, Ishwar Galbaransingh, CEO of Northern Construction Ltd, Amrith Maharaj, Financial Comptroller of Northern Construction Ltd, Brian Kuei Tung, former Minister of Finance, Tyrone Gopee, former chairman of the Airports Authority, Peter Cateau, former client representative of the Ministry of Works and Transport, Edward Bayley, former chairman of Nipdec, and businesswoman Renee Pierre. Missing were former Minister of Works Sadiq Baksh, who is attending a conference in Canada, and former Airports Authority Chairman Ameer Edoo, who is in London.

With the number of attorneys on both sides, the court was too small to accommodate everyone. Magistrate Espinet apologised for the inconvenience, promising to do something on the next occasion. Many were surprised to see Cassel walk into the court, although there was word that he had been retained to represent the State in the matter. Cassel said he was retained only last week and had just received statements. He said there were voluminous documents which have to be examined. Cassel said he would need time to prepare the case and to review the charges laid against the defendants. The British QC said it would take between four to six weeks to decide what documents are to be used in the case, but he promised that the list of documents will be submitted to the defence.

He said the defence will have access to examine the original documents. Cassel told the magistrate that he plans to make an opening address. “I suspect there will be a problem. In your jurisdiction the practice is not for an opening address. In other jurisdictions, there is that practice. There is nothing in the legislation to stop this practice. This is a common practice in other jurisdictions.” Cassel said this was a highly complex case and he wants to present a bundle of documents to the magistrate at the start of the inquiry, something which is not done in this country. “It will be extremely difficult for you to follow without some form of opening and without a bundle of documents. There will be a dispute whether we are entitled to send you the documents, or to make an opening address.”

Cassel told the court he was not making the submission, but putting the court on notice  of what he intends to do on the next occasion. Vernon De Lima, one of the defence attorneys, found Cassel’s planned opening address to be strange and promised to deal with it at the right opportunity. Pamela Elder SC, who represents Bayley, said Cassel himself had recognised that his planned opening address was not in keeping with practice and the law. She wondered whether Cassel had any legal authority to show that he can make an opening address in a preliminary inquiry. Russell Martineau SC, who represents Edoo, submitted that until the defence got full disclosure, it would be senseless to embark on any submissions. Magistrate Espinet said there was just a proposal from Cassel, nothing more. She said nothing was wrong with Cassel indicating what he intends to do. Cassel promised to send his skeleton submissions to the court and the defence shortly.