Sanctus – Prime Minister Joshua Turner today moved to begin the impeachment process of disgraced Supreme Court Justice Julian Young. The articles of impeachment, published by the Department of the Prime Minister today, announce that Young is to be impeached for the “high misdemeanour” of bribery, corruption, and abuse of high office. Turner also announced that an Impeachment Commission would be announced by the weekend and that the impeachment itself would begin next Tuesday; the Prime Minister also stated that should Justice Young resign before then, the process would be suspended.
However it’s unlikely that Young will resign before then, according to the embattled Justice’s chambers. The jurist, who was arrested on Monday evening for suspected participation in the “cash-for-verdicts” scandal, has been arguing since his release on bail Tuesday afternoon that he is innocent of the charges levied against him. His press spokeperson said yesterday that the Justice would not resign because a “resignation sends all the wrong signals” and that doing so would “signify that [Young] was guilty and did not deserve to remain on the bench of the Supreme Court”; the spokesperson stressed that this was not the case and that those who demanded the Justice’s resignation should remember one of the central tenants of Sanctarian law – that one is innocent until proven guilty.
The announcement of impeachment hearings has drawn support from across the political spectrum. Leader of Opposition, Democratic Left Party leader Charlene Hendry, welcomed the Prime Minister’s intention to impeach the Supreme Court Associate Justice. Speaking in the House of Deputies, Hendry said that while a resignation would be “preferable”, she was confident that the impeachment process would be “expedited in order to keep the dignity, respect, and authority” of the nation’s highest court. The Christian Union Party leader, Dermot Halligan, echoed Hendry, adding that in refusing to resign, Young was showing “great disrespect for the office that he holds”.
The Impeachment Commission, a body of lawmakers created to impeach senior public officials excluding the President (which has its own impeachment system), is expected to be announced tomorrow evening and will include, by law, the Speaker of the House of Deputies, Eamonn Forbes, and the Moderator of the Senate, Reilly Jacobs; eleven more politicians from each party will be chosen from both houses to complete the Commission, one of whom will be elected by the body as its nominal chairperson. It is expected that each party, and non, will be allocated positions on the Commission based on the amount of seats they hold in both Houses of Parliament.
SARAH PLEDYS, Political Editor
