The Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings has ordered Acting Chief Magistrate Faith McGusty to preside over the criminal trial into the alleged election fraud case.
The Acting Chief Magistrate made the announcement today as the case was called in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Chief Magistrate McGusty replaces Magistrate Leron Daly, who fell ill shortly after the trial commenced in July. Magistrate Daly remains unwell and away from work.
The acting Chief Magistrate said the decision was taken to transfer the case given the extensive delays experienced due to the ill health of the presiding Magistrate.
In the circumstance, the matter will now have to be restarted, the acting Chief Magistrate said.
“The Chancellor was so excited, she asked if the matter could be started today but I don’t believe that we can work that miracle,” the acting Chief Magistrate said.
After a brief consultation with both the Prosecution and the Defense teams, it was agreed that a Case Management Conference (CMC) will be held at 2pm on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 to chart the way forward.
The trial into the alleged attempt to commit fraud during the 2020 Elections commenced on July 29, 2024, however, it was adjourned after just three days as the Prosecution raised repeated concerns over the omission of certain “evidence” that were deemed inadmissible by the then Magistrate.
The Prosecution had also complained bitterly about the number of objections raised by the Defense.
At the time, only two witnesses had testified before the Court – Minister of Local Government Sonia Parag and Head of the Diaspora Unit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rosalind Rasul.
State Counsel, Latchmie Rahamat told the Court that it is the Prosecution’s hope that the Court restarts with those two witnesses.
Meanwhile, Attorney-at-Law Eusi Anderson – one of the attorneys for the defendants in the case – told the Court that it was important to address some of the issues that arose when the trial initially began. One such issue was that of record keeping, and the Chief Magistrate (ag) used the opportunity to clarify that the Court would use a recording device.
“If something is recorded, it cannot be refuted,” Chief Magistrate (ag) McGusty said, while adding that it would make for a speedy trial.
Anderson though not objecting, made it known that the Defense will be making its objections known if hearsay evidence is used to pollute the record.
“What the court would learn, respectfully madam, is that there will be objections as the rules of evidence become, in the last iteration significantly eroded with hearsay evidence being used to pollute the record and we will continue to object to that,” Anderson said.
The Court assured that inadmissible evidence would be disregarded.
The defendants in the matter are former Chief Election Officer, Keith Lowenfield; Deputy Chief Election Officer, Roxanne Myers; and former Region Four Returning Officer, Clairmont Mingo, along with Opposition Member of Parliament, Volda Lawrence’ People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Member Carol Smith-Joseph; and Election Officers Sheffern February, Enrique Livan, Denise Bobb-Cummings and Michelle Miller.
Together, the nine accused are facing 19 conspiracy charges relating to an alleged attempt to declare fraudulent results during the 2020 Elections. They have all declared their innocence.
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