Archive for October 13th, 2009

Judge says Perez not guilty

(CNS): The man accused of murdering Martin Gareau was acquitted on Tuesday afternoon by Judge Roy Anderson, who said that while it was plausible that Josue Carillo Perez could have committed the crime, plausibility was not enough and the crown had not proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.  Justice Anderson explained that although the defendant had elected for a judge alone trial, it was still the role of the judge to be both judge and jury and make the decision on the evidence. The judge said that while he believed it was possible that Perez was involved, he could not say that he was sure and therefore returned a verdict of not guilty.

The judge told the court that the Crown’s case was based on circumstantial evidence, and while it had demonstrated with the fingerprint evidence that he was likely there at the scene, there was evidence to suggest that if Perez had played any part he was not alone, but the Crown had presented the case as the defendant as the sole perpetrator of the vile murder.

The particulars of this case do not contemplate that he did it in concert with anyone else,” Justice Anderson noted and explained he could not be sure of Perez’s guilt. He explained that while the Crown had offered a window of opportunity for Perez to have committed the act on the Sunday afternoon and motive in stealing money, it had not proved beyond doubt that the deceased had cash in the apartment.

He also noted that while officers in the case had followed the processes in the execution of their work, the judge said there was a need document evidence and follow protocols. “Everything must be done to secure the integrity of evidence,” Anderson added.

The judge also acknowledged the two applications submitted by the defence to have the finger print and foot impression evidence suppressed, he said that there was nothing to suggest from the case that fingerprint evidence was not as important a tool to law enforcement as ever.

Justice Anderson said he believed that foot impression evidence can also be of great assistance in the process but on this occasion he noted that the expert had said that the evidence could or could not support the case.

In his summing up the judge lamented the end of innocence in Cayman and noted the unstoppable advance of the global village where the old order of tranquillity had ended. “It is my view that Caymanians should not allow the monster of crime to overrun them, but justice must be done,” he said before reiterating his not guilty verdict.

Perez was charged with Gareau’s murder in June 2008 following the discovery of Gareau’s body in his Beach Bay home, on Tuesday the 20 May, by a family member. The crime scene showed evidence of a considerable struggle and the deceased had received multiple blunt and sharp wounds. The pathologist stated that the fatal wound was a fracture to his skull.

See comments from Perez’s lawyer and family www.cayman27.com.ky

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Jack rejects responsibility

(CNS): In the wake of the auditor general’s special report on Operation Tempura that revealed, among other things, that the SIO was paid more than three times his police salary when he became a direct employee of the governor, the UK’s representative has said that he had urged those who were responsible to be as careful as possible with the costs of the investigation but rejected his own culpability. In a short statement following Dan Duguay’s shocking report, Stuart Jack also said that while things could have been handled differently civil servants supporting Operations Tempura and Cealt acted in good faith.

Although his office had ultimate responsibility for the discredited investigation following the suspension of then-police commissioner, Stuart Kernohan, in a short statement from his office the governor said he was not responsible for police-related budgets, but he had urged, at various points, those who were responsible “to be as careful as possible to keep down the costs of the investigations.”

The governor however does have ultimate responsibility for the official arm of government, which includes the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs. Moreover, throughout the early stages of the overt operation Jack appeared alongside SIO Martin Bridger when making public comment about the progress of the investigation on numerous occassions.

The governor made no comment about the estimated cost of Operation Tempura and latterly Cealt, which has cost more than $6.8 million from the Cayman purse but has proved nothing other than the fact that Deputy Commissioner Anthony Ennis was not the police source of Desmond Seales (the publisher of Cayman Net News) .

Nor does Jack comment on Duguay’s findings that there was a fundamental lack of oversight of the financial management, leaving the SIO and the special police investigation team (SPIT) to essentially write their own checks. Duguay points out that there was no attempt to pursue the normal channels regarding government contracts and there was scant regard to value for money.

The governor said he believed the auditor general had a right to “look into any areas of public expenditure, including Operations Tempura and Cealt,” but that these were not routine project or purchase of services by government, and that to understand what transpired, he said, he encouraged people to read the management response at the end of the report, as well as the AG’s findings.

In his report Duguay noted how the SIO had begun working in Cayman as a member of the UK’s Metropolitan Police Service and therefore Cayman was reimbursing Scotland Yard for Bridger’s salary, at just over $8,000 per month plus paying him expenses.

Once he retired from the famous Scotland Yard and was asked to remain at the helm of Operation Tempura as a consultant, his salary was then increased to a whopping $27,400 per month.

CNS has sent questions to both the chief secretary and the governor’s offices asking who had negotiated the new rate with Bridger and how such an incredible increase was justified given that he had continued in the same post. The Governor’s Office has not yet responded. However, thechief secretary told CNS he would be happy to address questions about the auditor general’s report following the Public Account Committee’s consideration of the report. Donovan Ebanks explained that his primary responsibility is to be available to the PAC and assist by answering any questions that were likely to be in public.

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Mac changes legal aid policy

(CNS): As Finance Committee proceedings drew to a close on Monday evening the government made an unexpected move to completely alter the way legal aid will be funded in the future and slashed this year’s allocation by $1m. In the absence of the attorney general, government pushed through a Finance Committee motion to create a legal aid office, taking the appropriation for legal aid from the judicial administration and placing it under the leader of government business, who said the new office would be a non-governmental organisation to which his ministry will give a grant of $500,000 in this financial year.

McKeeva Bush also moved a motion to amend several allocations and appropriations to absorb the $1 million he cut from legal aid into other ministries, including $400,000 to add to his own special fund which he had described last week as a “nation building programme”.

The Legal Aid Office motion was tabled by UDP backbencher Dwayne Seymour, who gave little detail of how the office, which will be created by local attorneys Steve McField and Theresa Pitcairn, will function, where other funding, if any, will come from and where the handful of criminal defence attorneys currently doing legal aid will fit into the picture. The motion stated that the creation of such an office would reduce the burden on government while ensuring legal aid was distributed fairly.

Following an adjournment of the committee to prepare the motion, when the members returned the LoGB took over the debate, making it clear that while it may have come from the backbench it was being fully supported by government front benches, which intended to press the amendment to the budget appropriations through, effectively changing legal aid policy without the need to change the law. “The member put forward a finance committee motion to set up a legal aid office to change the way it is done,” Bush said. “We have considered it and feel it appropriate to do what the member asks.”

He then went on to say that it was anticipated that the office would provide funding to a broader cross section of people, as well as train young Caymanian lawyers in the legal aid clinic. Bush said the office would be independent and run to a high standard of equality and transparency. Bush then moved the motion to reduce the Legal Aid Services appropriations to the chief justice (which had been voted and passed on Friday when the AG Samuel Bulgin had attended Finance Committee) from $185m to $300,000, which was left, he said, to cover outstanding payments.

During his appearance before the committee on Friday, Bulgin had answered a number of questions regarding legal aid and its future plans but had not mentioned the establishment of a legal aid or public defender’s office. Bulgin had said that, following the recommendations by the law reform commission, the department was looking at ways that local law firms could be asked to contribute hours pro bono, either with the provision of barristers or financial contributions, which would be agreed at the time of the granting of their legal practitioner’s license. There was no indication at all that the official arm of government would be relinquishing the management of this funding.

In his absence on Monday evening however, the allocation was cut and a new appropriation inserted into the Ministry of Finance as a Legal Aid Office with a grant of $500,000, Bush said, “to reflect the new policy.”

Alden McLaughlin, the opposition PPM member, noted the irregularity of what government was doing, raising concerns about how such an important matter was being dealt with. He said the opposition had been given no time to consider it, that they were not privy to the representations made by the two attorney’s involved,  that there was no comment from the AG, the chief justice or other defence lawyers and the House was  being presented with a fait accompli.

“In almost nine years in the LA I have never seen anything quite like this,” said McLaughlin with regard to how such a major policy change was being pushed through at such a late hour in Finance Committee. He said not only was this matter about a considerable sum of money but, more importantly, about the system of justice and fairness. He said it was apparent that the posing of the motion and the pretence at debate in Finance Committee was merely a formality as government had clearly made up its mind.

“This should be moved on the floor of the House,” McLaughlin said, lamenting the absence of the AG and the views of the CJ. “Then we have the staggering proposition that the allocation of legal aid is being given to the premier’s office.” The opposition member suggested that for the highest elected official to have the last word on who was allocated legal aid looked pretty bad. He asked what other lawyers had been consulted or been offered the opportunity for what was essentially a government contract of half a million dollars.

“To say this is irregular is an understatement,” McLaughlin said. He added, however, that he was not pouring cold water on the idea of a legal aid office or the two attorneys involved, who were both respected and competent lawyers, but he said such an important issue could not be handled in such a cavalier manner and that the Law Reform Commission’s report was just being dismissed.

Bush chastised McLaughlin for trying to suggest there was something untoward about the action. “He is scaring this up to be something terrible,” Bush said, adding it was a good plan and it would save government money. He said that the AG was off island but he’d spoken with the solicitor general, Cheryl Richards. He said the idea that hewould be dispensing the legal aid was rubbish but that his ministry would be giving a grant to an NGO who would dispense the money. Bush rejected the accusation that he was dismissing the work of the Law Reform Commission as he said they may have recommended something similar.

He said at the moment people were getting legal aid for every conceivable thing and the money needed to be more evenly distributed. Bush added that if it didn’t work out than they could always change the policy. The motion was passed by 9 to 2, supported by government members and Ezzard Miller, the independent MLA for North Side, but was opposed by the two opposition members still in the chamber.

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Captain Underpants stays as OT minister

(CNS): According to the Governor’s Office, Chris Bryant remains UK minister with responsibility for Overseas Territories following a Cabinet reshuffle in which he and Baroness Glenys Kinnock essentially switched jobs. Bryant has now been given the more prestigeous post of minister for Europe while Kinnock takes on Africa. CNS reported this morning that the Kinnock had now also replaced Bryant as OT Minister but this appears not to be the case. Bryant, a former vicar who is notorious for posing on a gay website in only his Y-fronts, has attracted more derision by scooping Downing Street and the Foreign Office in announcing the mini Cabinet reshuffle by posting it on  Twitter.

Shadow Europe Minister Mark Francois is quoted in the Daily Mail as saying, “Gordon Brown’s government is again stumbling into farce. Glenys Kinnock was appointed in chaos, now she has the embarrassment of being the first minister ever whose reshuffle has been announced on Twitter by her successor.”

The move into a less prestigious ministerial position is largely seen as acknowledgment by Prime Minister Gordon Brown that he made a mistake by appointing Lady Kinnock, the wife of former Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, into the high profile European post. However, she retains her minister of state salary of £106,136, while Bryant keeps his parliamentary under-secretary of state salary of £96,167.

CaribWorldNews reports that yesterday (12 October), in a written ministerial statement to the House of Commons, Bryant said elections for a new government in the Turks & Caicos Islands, where Britain has imposed direct rule, should be held by July 2011, if not sooner. He also insisted that the 14 August suspension of ministerial government and the House of Assembly for a period of up to two years in TCI was “taken to restore the principles of good governance and sound financial management in the Turks and Caicos Islands.”

He also revealed that a full review of the TCI government`s finances has been undertaken and measures put in place to limit public expenditure, increase revenue and bring the Islands` debt under control.

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