Grenada Today - The National Newspaper of Grenada, Carriacou & Petite Martinique

It was not business as usual when the February criminal assizes started Tuesday at the Number Two High Court in St. George's before Justice Kenneth Benjamin.

The full membership of the Grenada Bar Association (GBA) appeared in Court to give support to a motion put forward by their president and other senior members of the profession about their decision to protest the appointment of controversial Jamaican lawyer Hugh Wildman to the post of Attorney General.

At Tuesday's sitting, Bar President, Ruggles Ferguson announced in open court that his members will not be participating in any legal matters from the Magistracy to the High Court and Master's Chambers as a sign of protest to Wildman's appointment. The lawyers believe that the appointment of Wildman to the post of Attorney General will result in the further deterioration of the island's already damaged legal system.

One lawyer said that with Wildman holding the office of A.G this will only allow "dark clouds" to hover over the future of Grenada's judicial and legal system, given his track record. The motion received support from senior lawyers like Lloyd Noel and Reynold Benjamin who indicated that they were standing firm behind the President and the other members.

Justice Benjamin after listening to the lawyers indicated that their points were well noted. The judge took a short adjournment and resumed the assizes to carry out the Court's normal business. Meanwhile, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Christopher Nelson when asked how the lawyers decision will affect the assizes, he indicated that it was too early to say and choose to reserve his comments for a later date.

Nonetheless, Nelson pointed out that on the opening day of the assizes, the prosecution were able to receive five guilty pleas on offenses like grievous harm, dishonestly receiving, unlawful damage to a vehicle, house breaking and attempted robbery. He said the defendants who pleaded guilty were expected to be sentenced on Wednesday while the others who pleaded not guilty were notified that they will be brought back at a later stage of the assizes.

GRENADA TODAY was told that several accused persons with lawyers made requests to the court to consult their lawyers for their upcoming matters. The February assizes has a total of eighty-four cases down for hearing of which forty one were traversed from the last sitting of the assizes which was held in October to November.

Among the eighty-four cases listed for hearing there are five murder indictments, twelve rape and eleven cases of unlawful carnal knowledge among others.