The news that are coming out within certain quarters in the legal profession is that political pressure is being brought to bear for high court judge, Justice Davidson Baptiste to be withdrawn from sitting in the local high court because of alleged bias against the Keith Mitchell-led New National Party (NNP) government.

The allegation against the judge stems from an encounter in his court a few weeks ago against the most controversial lawyer to have graced our shores for the past 20 years- Hugh Wildman of Jamaica.
It is no secret that Mr. Wildman who is considered as the "legal hatchet-man" for the Mitchell government had accused Justice Baptiste of being "bias" after the judge ruled against him in the matter of his failure to get the post of Attorney-General from the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLCS).

This prompted the judge and in our view quite rightly so deciding to recluse himself from matters involving Mr. Wildman who has built up a reputation as a bad and sour loser.

The judge for whatever reason did not exercise the option of hauling Mr. Wildman before his court and citing him for contempt of court. If some other lesser mortal had done the same with Justice Baptiste it is quite possible that he would have been dealt with quite differently. The lawyers have their own club and eggs have no right to get involved in rock stone dance.

And what is rather frightening is the growing perception in the minds of many persons in the country that open and vulgar attempts are being made by the political directorate in Grenada to manipulate the judiciary.

This must be resisted by all patriots and law-abiding citizens who are committed to ensuring that justice must not only be done but be seen to be done in our law courts. If we do otherwise then the country would enter a dangerous period in which matters involving the State would boil down to nothing but kangaroo trials.

There is no way that justice Zimbabwe-style should be allowed to get implanted in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. That country's Prime Minister Robert Mugabe who has disappointed many after the bitter years of a just liberation war against white-minority racist rule, is known internationally as one of the most brutal dictators in modern black African history.

Mugabe is now doing almost what he used to accuse the white regime of doing. His penchant for power has extended to the court system in his country where even the Chief Justice had to fled to the safety of London since he could no longer stomach the interference in the judiciary by the government.

If we are not careful in Grenada, the NNP would continue along the merry road of trying to plant in the judiciary men and women who are prepared to do its bidding. There is already suspicion that certain elements within the Supreme Court Registry who are supportive of the regime are engaged in the manipulation of court files and cases in an effort to frustrate the course of justice.

We recall an incident in which a lawyer had threatened to take legal action against a former NNP government. The reaction from the NNP hierarchy was that the minister should not worry about the threat from the lawyer since "we are in power and in control of things".

The message was clear: The NNP would use its operatives in the Supreme Court Registry to make sure that the case files would not seen daylight inside any high court in this country. Despite its slender one-seat majority in parliament, the Mitchell government is still bent on controlling every facet of life in this country.

As its stands at the moment, the regime has not been able to lay its hands totally on the judiciary. It is not in control of the Grenada Bar Association and to the best of our knowledge none of the high court judges have been "bought" by them. Its recent attack on the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Christopher Nelson is part of the scheme to be in control of the judiciary.

This administration is hell bent on having its own way in the legal system in order to create and instill fear in the minds of its opponents. The message that it would like to send out is that if you do not fall in line then we would use the court system to deal with you.

And the recent happenings with Justice Baptiste and the Brian Alleyne matter vis-ý-vis the post of Chief Justice of the OECS have only served to further strengthen our position that the newly created Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) should not be allowed at this point in time to become the final court of the region.

Our politicians are not ready yet. They are not mature enough to accept in good faith decisions from the courts that go against them.
These politicians would find any means possible to recruit persons to serve in our courts in the Caribbean who can do their bidding. We need to keep the politicians at bay and resist their every moves to corrupt the judiciary.