Sanctus – There were scenes of jubilation and outright disgust today in the Central Criminal Courts when The Hon. Michael Davenport declared a mistrial in the case against Supreme Court Justice Julian Young. The trial, which was concerned with whether or not the Justice had accepted monetary payments for certain outcomes in trials, was thrown out by the trial judge due to a “serious undermining of the independence of the legal system” by Parliament as well as a “flagrant abuse of the principle of being innocent until proven otherwise”. The mistrial comes after the Impeachment Commission, a quasi-judicial body, declared Young to be guilty on the same charges he was facing in the court.
Most importantly, Judge Davenport declared that the Impeachment Commission’s verdict had “irreversibly prejudiced” the case against the Supreme Court Justice, a claim which Young’s counsel made on Wednesday afternoon. Agreeing with the defence, Judge Davenport said that he had no choice but to declare a mistrial, before officially informing Justice Julian Young that he was free to go. Under the double jeopardy rules, Justice Young cannot face the same charge again.
Responding the declaration, Justice Young announced that he felt “vindicated and relieved” and that he intended to get back to work in the Supreme Court shortly, also saying that he was confident he had the “support of [his] colleagues”; to date, none of his colleagues on the bench in the Supreme Court have spoken publicly about Young or the case. When asked about the impeachment, Young said he was “saddened by the actions of the Government” but he hoped that “in the light of the verdict, they will see sense”.
The Government’s response, on the other hand, was much more muted. In a press release from the Attorney General’s office, Attorney General Tara Gregory said that she would now “consider the trial and its result” before reporting back to Government. Secretary for Home Affairs, Justice & Equality, Dr. George Merlinson, said that “naturally, the Government is disappointed with the outcome” but they intended to push ahead with the impeachment vote. It was later clarified by the Chief Whip’s Office that, in the light of the verdict, they would be postponing the vote until Tuesday next.
DLP Leader Charlene Hendry called for an immediate “review” into the law regarding prejudicial information and claimed that what is said in Parliament should never be used in a judicial case. In a rare move, the Opposition leader also defended the Government insisting that “the fault lies with all of us; we all agreed on the wording of the articles, to blame the Government now is to score political points”. She also confirmed that her party still intended to remove Justice Young from office saying that, at the least, he “disgraced his office with his conduct and response to the allegations”.
Justice Young said that he will take this weekend to spend time with his family, but will concentrate on the impeachment votes next week. He said that “to maintain judicial independence”, he would not engage in any lobbying. It is believed that both Houses will indeed vote to removed Young from the Supreme Court’s bench.
ADAM KING, Crime & Justice Correspondent, and JOEY SESSIONS, Political Correspondent
