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Attorney General’s credibility being questioned
Some members of the legal fraternity are raising questions about the credibility of Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, the Attorney General and Justice Minister, in the wake of her testimony at the Manatt/Dudus Commission of Enquiry.
The attorneys believe that based on the evidence submitted so far by Ms Lightbourne, the gaps and inconsistencies are too many to ignore.
They have pointed to the contradictions with several other players in the Manatt/Dudus affair and more recently, e-mails purportedly sent on Ms Lightbourne’s behalf but of which she has denied any knowledge.
Attorney-at-law Lloyd McFarlane says the Attorney-General's credibility is now in doubt.
"She's also at odds with Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Lisa Palmer-Hamilton, she’s at odds with Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Cole, she’s at odds with Solicitor General, Douglas Leys, she’s at odds with the Prime Minister and at times, she’s even at odds with herself as is seen with the email situation. But the whole things is the number of accumulative circumstances when the Minister seemed to be inconsistent with so many different persons that a tribunal of fact is asked to say that her credibility might be affected by this," said Mr. McFarlane. Meanwhile, attorney Clyde Williams believes the contradictions have affected the Minister's work relationship with other State officials and this will have further implications when the Commission ends.
"It's untenable … the Minister is saying she didn’t agree with her attorneys (and K.D.) Knight (lead attorney for the People’s National Party while cross examining the Attorney General) said did you read the authorities that were listed. She said no but she disagreed with the position they were advancing. It’s not only her credibility that has been savaged, but she has been found wanting as far as aspects of the discharge of her functions are concerned," he said.
Both attorneys were speaking Wednesday evening on RJR’s daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond The Headlines.
More red flags raised about Lightbourne’s credibility
And there are suggestions that the Attorney General has compromised the attorneys she retained for a claim brought against her by former West Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke last year.
Under cross examination from Mr. Knight on Tuesday, the Justice Minister denied that her attorneys prepared the arguments based on her instructions, but rather on their own legal interpretation of the matter.
However, legal opinion has frowned on this explanation.
According to Mr. McFarlane, lawyers are not allowed to depart from the instructions of their clients as they may face serious trouble.
"The attorney could be sanctioned. The client could make a complaint against the attorney. There are serious sanctions, including disbarment that faces an attorney for doing that, so the attorney would never go outside the instructions of his/her client.
"It goes to not only the position of the attorneys but it also goes to the credibility of the Minister because she is not just disagreeing with her attorneys (but) she is saying they are incorrect and she had not given them instructions on which they could have formed such a view," Mr. McFarlane said.
Some members of the legal fraternity are raising questions about the credibility of Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, the Attorney General and Justice Minister, in the wake of her testimony at the Manatt/Dudus Commission of Enquiry.
The attorneys believe that based on the evidence submitted so far by Ms Lightbourne, the gaps and inconsistencies are too many to ignore.
They have pointed to the contradictions with several other players in the Manatt/Dudus affair and more recently, e-mails purportedly sent on Ms Lightbourne’s behalf but of which she has denied any knowledge.
Attorney-at-law Lloyd McFarlane says the Attorney-General's credibility is now in doubt.
"She's also at odds with Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Lisa Palmer-Hamilton, she’s at odds with Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Cole, she’s at odds with Solicitor General, Douglas Leys, she’s at odds with the Prime Minister and at times, she’s even at odds with herself as is seen with the email situation. But the whole things is the number of accumulative circumstances when the Minister seemed to be inconsistent with so many different persons that a tribunal of fact is asked to say that her credibility might be affected by this," said Mr. McFarlane. Meanwhile, attorney Clyde Williams believes the contradictions have affected the Minister's work relationship with other State officials and this will have further implications when the Commission ends.
"It's untenable … the Minister is saying she didn’t agree with her attorneys (and K.D.) Knight (lead attorney for the People’s National Party while cross examining the Attorney General) said did you read the authorities that were listed. She said no but she disagreed with the position they were advancing. It’s not only her credibility that has been savaged, but she has been found wanting as far as aspects of the discharge of her functions are concerned," he said.
Both attorneys were speaking Wednesday evening on RJR’s daily current affairs discussion programme Beyond The Headlines.
More red flags raised about Lightbourne’s credibility
And there are suggestions that the Attorney General has compromised the attorneys she retained for a claim brought against her by former West Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke last year.
Under cross examination from Mr. Knight on Tuesday, the Justice Minister denied that her attorneys prepared the arguments based on her instructions, but rather on their own legal interpretation of the matter.
However, legal opinion has frowned on this explanation.
According to Mr. McFarlane, lawyers are not allowed to depart from the instructions of their clients as they may face serious trouble.
"The attorney could be sanctioned. The client could make a complaint against the attorney. There are serious sanctions, including disbarment that faces an attorney for doing that, so the attorney would never go outside the instructions of his/her client.
"It goes to not only the position of the attorneys but it also goes to the credibility of the Minister because she is not just disagreeing with her attorneys (but) she is saying they are incorrect and she had not given them instructions on which they could have formed such a view," Mr. McFarlane said.
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