• Home
  • Announcements
  • Contact
  • Documents
  • Events
  • Gov’t Achievements
  • UNC Councillors
  • Home
  • News
    • Commentary
    • Letters
    • Press Releases
    • Speeches
    • Testimonies
  • About UNC
    • Political Leader
    • UNC Founder
    • UNC Natex
  • Gallery
    • Projects
    • Video Gallery
  • Links
  • Live Stream
  • Meet The Candidates
  • Youth Arm
  • UNC-PLAN2020
HEADLINES
PNM continues to ignore the crisis in the Energy Sector
MP Tancoo: Imbert’s Forex Mismanagement Causing Nightmare for Local Businesses
MP Tancoo: Is the NIB insolvent?
UNC Call for Fresh Election after PM Rowley Caught Lying about Vaccine
Kamla: Granny Luces was a hero and her legacy will forever run on in the history of our nation
Kamla: Deyalsingh must go now
The UNC Stands Firm in its Support for the Rule of Law
Lutchmedial: Conflict of Interest? Look in the mirror AG – and then look to your right
Evidence (Amendment) Bill Passed with Opposition Support
KAMLA: FARIS MUST STOP LYING

Lutchmedial: AG In Contempt

Posted On 11 Feb 2021
By : Admin

Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial. Photo courtesy Office of the Parliament.

I wish to correct the false narrative that is being peddled by AG Al-Rawi about the issues in the case of Akili Charles v The Attorney General in which I appear as junior counsel to Mr. Anand Ramlogan SC. This is without a doubt another desperate attempt by the AG to distract the population from the failure of the Government to adequately address the crime situation which has resulted in an unprecedented outpouring of anger and grief from the citizens of this country.

I wish to firstly remind the AG that as a lawyer, I have a duty to act in the best interests of my client, represent him honestly, competently and zealously.

It is the client who has approached the Court to air his grievance and seek redress, not a “UNC lawyer”. The role of the lawyer is to advocate the client’s position and research the law. The issue is not between the UNC or the lawyer and the State. It is between the citizen and the State, and the Constitution says the citizen has a right to approach the Court for redress.

This client was charged for murder and freed after 9 years by the Chief Magistrate on a no case submission. This means that the Prosecution’s evidence was so weak or discredited to such an extent that the Magistrate found it “so manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court could safely convict upon it”. Freedom after 9 years means nothing to an innocent man who was automatically denied bail on the basis of the crime he was accused of committing. There was no opportunity for the Court to even consider the strength of the evidence against him. He was, on a mere allegation, locked away for 9 years.

Crimes occur in different circumstances. Each case is unique based on the facts. I feel very strongly that an accused person who poses a threat or danger to society should be denied bail. This case does not seek to change that. However, the position of this client is that persons should have the right to make an application for bail so that the court can consider the facts and rule on the issue of bail.

In other words, his argument is that Parliament’s role is not to deny bail but rather, the Judiciary, the trained legal minds seized of the particular facts of the case. That is the critical issue in this case: which arm of the state is responsible under the constitution for dealing with the issue of bail?

Should the father who kills the man that rapes his daughter be treated by the law in the same way as the man who kidnaps, rapes and murders a woman? That grieving father poses no threat to society. Similarly, if a person retaliates against a bully should they be treated in the same way as a cold-blooded murderer for hire. A man who kills a bandit during a home invasion deserves the opportunity to state his case for bail and let the Judicial officer decide. In short, there are endless examples of cases where the broad-brush absolute prohibition against the grant of bail can result in serious injustice.

This is a legitimate constitutional question which every citizen has a right to raise, including Mr Charles who was robbed of his liberty for 9 years whilst supposedly enjoying the “presumption of innocence”.

It would be prudent for the AG, as the Defendant in this matter, to respect the judicial process and desist from making inappropriate comments and attacking lawyers for doing their jobs while the matter is still before the Court. His conduct is unbecoming as the titular head of the Bar and betrays his troubling ignorance of constitutional law, whilst violating the sub judice rule.

It is contemptuous for the AG as a Defendant, who is the conduit between the Executive and the Judiciary to make inflammatory statements about the possible impact of a judgement in favour of a Claimant and a “serious upsurge in violent crimes”. Is the AG subtly signalling to the Court that it should rule in a particular way or else face the wrath of public opinion which he seeks to influence by capitalising on recent brutal killings?

Should Mr Charles succeed in this matter, Al-Rawi’s fulminations and convenient political rhetoric about passing laws to deny bail to solve crime would be exposed for the fallacy that it is, hence his pre-emptive attack on me. His paltry attempt to sell bail restrictions as the magic bullet to fix the crime situation is under threat and he has lashed out without considering the propriety of his actions.

Instead of obsessing about denying bail to persons who are innocent until proven guilty (which is already a feature of the law, passed in 2019 with Opposition support) the AG should join me and others in the Opposition in “obsessing” about non-lethal weapons that could help a person escape an attacker, CCTV cameras that could assist the police in finding kidnap victims quickly and save their lives and the building of the DNA lab which could ensure that 15 years after a brutal murder, the analysis report is ready so that justice could be served. These are matters worth “obsessing” about!

I remain committed as a Senator to advocating for REAL and MEANINGFUL changes that would reduce crime and improve the system of justice in this country and no amount of empty public relations from Faris Al-Rawi will cause me to waiver in that commitment.

Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • google-share
Previous Story

Lutchmedial: State should arrange foreign independent forensic examination

Next Story

KAMLA: FARIS MUST STOP LYING

News

Off

PNM continues to ignore the crisis in the Energy Sector

The Keith Rowley led government continues to act as though Trinidad and Tobago’s vital energy sector is in good shape, instead of the crisis
Posted On 27 Feb 2021
Off

MP Tancoo: Imbert’s Forex Mismanagement Causing Nightmare for Local Businesses

For the past 6 years accessing foreign exchange has been a nightmare for local businesses. This is despite the fact that the Central Bank sells
Posted On 25 Feb 2021
Off

MP Tancoo: Is the NIB insolvent?

This was the question MP Davendranath Tancoo posed to the Minister of Finance at the UNC’s virtual Monday Night Forum. According to MP Tancoo,
Posted On 23 Feb 2021
Off

UNC Call for Fresh Election after PM Rowley Caught Lying about Vaccine

Like the singer Shaggy, caught in flagrante delicto, Keith Rowley once again boldfacely declares, “It wasn’t me” and expects the country to
Posted On 23 Feb 2021
Off

Kamla: Granny Luces was a hero and her legacy will forever run on in the history of our nation

I would like to offer sincere condolences to the friends and family of national icon Lynette “Granny” Luces who has passed away
Posted On 18 Feb 2021

COMMENTARY

WATER SUPPLY A NATIONAL CRISIS

BY Ken Ali When large communities in central and south Trinidad are denied a water supply for weeks, while urban areas get a constant free flow,
Posted On 29 Apr 2019

Lying Keith Rowley and Sinanan can’t get their maths right

By Capil Bissoon Prime Minister Kei­th Row­ley was being dishonest and deliberately mislead the population by saying that the entire Curepe
Posted On 21 Feb 2019

Media Should be More Vigilant with Galleons Passage

By Capil Bissoon I refer to your story in yesterday’s edition of the Trinidad Express captioned “Has the work started” with regards to the
Posted On 10 Jun 2018

GAS AND GROWTH IN 2018

By Kevin Ramnarine For the last two decades, the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) economy can best be described as a “gas based economy”. When
Posted On 20 Dec 2017

Speeches

Rowley’s Mad Power Grab in Tobago

My friends, we are seeing a government that is in freefall – in every single sector. Health, National Security, the business sector. And what
Posted On 16 Feb 2021

Presentation of UNC general election candidates 2020

T&T family! UNC family! It is my absolute pleasure to speak with you today, as we get ready for the sweeping victory that is to come on
Posted On 19 Jul 2020

Kamla: My vision is to build an intelligent nation

“ON THE BALLOT” UNC VIRTUAL MEETING (June 25, 2020) Introduction Good evening and thank you for joining us once again as we continue to set the
Posted On 26 Jun 2020

MNF – Kamla: There is hope

Introduction Good evening T&T! Good evening UNC family!  It is good to be back! 2020 we are ready to rumble! Are you ready? Even though it’s
Posted On 11 Mar 2020

Press Releases

UNC congratulates TTs Althea Alexis – Windsor on her election as a judge of the ICC

The UNC congratulates Ms. Althea Alexis-Windsor on her recent election as a judge of the ICC. Her CV and credentials are impeccable and most
Posted On 26 Dec 2020

Rowley Remains Confused: PNM Crashed Everything Long Before Covid

After the Prime Minister addressed the nation today from his home in Tobago, one would notice that the picture he has painted of his
Posted On 25 Oct 2020

UNC calls for clarification on new ‘shutdown’ army powers

The United National Congress has taken note of the new measures announced by the Government regarding a two week shutdown of the country’s
Posted On 27 Mar 2020

UNC calls for calm as T&T’s first Covid-19 case is confirmed

The United National Congress is calling for calm and urging citizens to follow the guidelines of public health officials in taking steps to
Posted On 13 Mar 2020

Letters

Keith Rowley has betrayed the sanctity of Parliament

Dear Editor, The revelation by the Commissioner of Police that the emails which Keith Rowley, then Opposition Leader read in our nations
Posted On 19 Jul 2019

T&T owes Kamla a debt of gratitude

Kamla Persad-Bissessar did what many were not expecting… she and her MPs voted unanimously with the Government to ensure passage of the Civil
Posted On 09 Apr 2019

Unity and Coalition are different things

Opposition Leader Kamla Persad Bissessar has faced some stinging criticism relative to her declaration at the UNC’s National Assembly that the
Posted On 01 Feb 2019

Three years of Rowley’s Rule

This is a particularly reflective time for Trinidad and Tobago having just observed our 56th year of Independence. This week, on September 7,
Posted On 03 Sep 2018
Copyright © - 2019 United National Congress
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.