Give justice a chance

Attorney Darryl Giles withdrew as defence lawyer for one of the accused on April 10 because of death threats made to him and his family. “I am thinking of withdrawing from the matter at this time being fearful for my life and that of my family,” he told the media. Giles said his office has been bombarded with threatening phone calls. Even worse, he said his 12-year-old son has been coming home and saying he had been receiving threats from students.

After Giles quit the case, his former client’s new attorney, Wayne Sturge, has also been receiving similar harassment.

On Wednesday at Couva Magistrates Court, reports are that a man in the crowd threatened to bomb Sturge’s car, leaving the lawyer shaken. Later Sturge told reporters that although he felt threatened, he would not be intimidated into quitting the case. To make matters exceedingly worse the house of a reported State witness in the case was destroyed by fire over the weekend and the police suspect arson.

It is our view that while Sean’s death has provoked outrage across our Nation, it is most improper for such anguish to be directed at attorneys in the case and more savagely for anger to be expressed by setting fire to the house of a witness, if arson as suspected is correct. We caution against any rash acts which could lead to an outcome to this tragic case that is based on mob rule rather than the rule of law. We believe that there is no place in our society for the abusive shouts uttered by the crowd who have gathered outside the court everytime the two accused have appeared.

The harshest abuses were made by women in the crowd which behaved like a lynch mob.

Our National Constitution says our rights and freedoms must be based on respect for the Rule of Law. The Constitution guarantees the right to a fair trial. Even more specifically the Constitution section 5(2) c says an accused person has the “right to retain and instruct without delay a legal adviser of his own choice...”

It is a fundamental principle of law that an accused person has the right to have a lawyer who will make the best possible presentation of his case, while the State has that same right as it prosecutes.

The right to a lawyer is spelt out in the laws and practices of many countries. According to our law, even the poorest defendant has a right to legal representation.

The European Convention on Human Rights Article 6(3) C says an accused person facing trial has the right to “defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing.”

The English legal profession, from which Trinidad and Tobago’s legal profession grew, has specific safeguards for the right of an accused to get legal representation. British barristers broadly operate under the “cab rank rule” whereby, just like taxis in a line-up, they must accept anyone who asks them. As the book The Law Machine by Marcel Berlins explained: “This is to ensure that everyone who needs a lawyer — even the most unpopular IRA (Irish Republican Army) terrorist or child molester — should have someone to represent his case.”

The United Nation’s “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights” also says an accused person has the right to “communicate with counsel of their own choosing.”

While we understand the pain in the hearts of people across our nation at this recent tragedy, we say the best way to ensure that justice is done is to allow all officers of the law including the attorneys to do their job. The truth about what happened to Sean Luke can only be discovered if all agents of the legal process — police officers, magistrate, lawyers, witnesses, judge and jurors — are allowed to do their duty without fear or favour.

We call upon all citizens to refrain from trying to influence any of these participants, and not to behave as if our nation is less than civilised. Let justice be done.