Sanctus – Just days after a court through out the criminal case against him, Parliament today voted to remove Justice Julian Young from the bench of the Supreme Court. Young was charged with being guilty of “the high misdemeanour of bribery, corruption, and abuse of high office”; a charge which has garnered much criticism since the mistrial was declared last Friday, citing the wording as prejudicial to the case.
548 MPs in the House of Deputies voted to remove Young from his office, with only 2 abstaining. Independent MPs Millie Durcan and Joseph Wiggins both said they could not vote to remove a man on a charge which he was not found guilty of. The same motion in the Senate yielded all 100 votes in favour. The removal from office took place immediately after the two votes, and was confirmed by Dr. George Merlinson, Secretary for Home Affairs, Justice & Equality, who made a statement to the House of Deputies informing them that a “vacancy has arisen on the bench of the Supreme Court”. Secretary Merlinson also confirmed in his statement that the Government would announce their nominee for the position on the Supreme Court sometime next week.
Julian Young announced his disappointment after the vote which stripped him from judicial office but noted that since it did not disbar him, he would seek to return to his former practice to continue his career in law. Disbarment was raised in the Impeachment Commission, but MPs on the Commission voted against including it on the motion. Young also said that should he not return to practicing law, he would retire. The Attorney General’s office confirmed that since Young was impeached and removed from office, statute outlines that he will not get his generous judicial pension packet.
This is the first time a Justice has been removed from the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Joshua Turned today thanked MPs for ensuring that the office of Justice of the Supreme Court did not receive any more damage than that already done to it by Young. Turner also confirmed that the Elite Corruption Division of the SPF would continue their work investigating the “cash-for-verdicts” scandal.
DAVID FLETCHER, Special Correspondent, and JOEY SESSIONS, Political Correspondent
