by Adrian Gibson

First published in The Tribune on Friday, November 17, 2006 under the byline, Young Man’s View.

ALLYSON Maynard- Gibson is the first Attorney General in the history of the Bahamas to talk so much!

Mrs. Gibson seemingly fails to understand that, due to her position, her never-ending political statements on swift justice and issues such as the cat-o-nine tails could potentially compromise matters before the courts.

On November 6th, Supreme Court Justice John Lyons made a critical and controversial ruling that accused the government of having broken the law—twice!

According to Justice Lyon’s ruling, in what appeared to be a deliberate act to circumvent the law, the government failed to establish a commission in October 2006 to assess the salaries and pensions of judges as mandated by the Judicial Remuneration and Pension Act.

According to the Act, subsequent to the first report of the original commission (in 2000), two other committees were supposed to be constituted in 2003 and 2006- according to the Constitution, commissions are to be constituted at three year intervals.

However, neither commission came to fruition, although an ad hoc commission (2005) that relied heavily upon the former commission’s (2000) report, criticized the government’s posture and strongly recommended that it comply with the committee’s report in accordance with the provisions of the Act.

Because the government failed to adhere to the Act, judges’ salaries remained stagnant – unmistakably a violation of Article 135 of the Constitution of the Bahamas.

Indeed, Justice Lyons was correct in his estimation that the government had broken the law and so now, due to the present government’s ineptitude, the Bahamas now faces a constitutional crisis.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the Constitution was ignored for political gain. Why would the government attempt to put judges at an economic disadvantage – could it be possibly be a ploy to manipulate judges into granting favorable verdicts, preferably convictions?

Following Justice Lyons’ ruling, Mrs Gibson responded, calling the ruling a “scurrilous and venomous attack” that she felt was “unwarranted”.

The AG also said: “Bahamians believe in decency and good order and I believe that you just have to listen to the public. People are shocked that a judge would speak in such a manner and there are appropriate ways in which concerns are brought to the public”.

Mrs. Gibson’s comments appeared to be rather vindictive in nature. Now that Allyson Gibson suddenly cares about the Bahamian people’s view’s, where was this new found nobility when former Registrar Elizabeth Thompson was unceremoniously attacked in the House of Assembly and forced from office last year?

Because Justice Lyons ruled that the judiciary is not independent, Mrs Gibson attacked him with fighting words, objecting to his use of the bench to highlight his concerns and seemingly suggesting that it was contrary to the Bahamian public’s belief in “decency and good order”.

It is astounding to see the AG’s castigating remarks, when she recently commended Judge Lyons on his ruling that accused drug kingpin Samuel Knowles’s extradition was legal. It now appears when decisions are not favorable to Mrs Gibson her outlook on someone takes a complete turn.

Another issue of contention was Justice Lyon’s ruling that the ‘swift justice’ initiative, promoted by the AG, was merely a “self-promoting piece of headline hunting”.

Indeed, the swift justice promotion is nothing more than a farce, a political scheme dreamt up to portray the image of being tough on crime, particularly as crime is likely to become a pressing election issue since it has skyrocketed over the past five years.

The “swift justice” mumbo-jumbo should be swiftly abandoned as there is no such thing in a democratic society where judicial protocols must be followed. Whilst the AG’s swift justice scheme may appeal to some, in a country where a fair trial is mandated by our constitution, justice as it is promoted is implausible without trampling upon the rights of both lawyers and the persons/entities they represent.

For the second time in less than two years, a courageous woman has stood up to Allyson Gibson. Cheryl Grant-Bethel, deputy director of prosecutions, defended her reputation, claiming that an internal report on the swift justice initiative—that Justice Lyons criticized—was not leaked by her.

Justice Lyons condemned the report, likening it to a “school master’s report or human resources manager’s report of what is happening in a named judge’s court”. Essentially, the report appeared to grade judges on the rate of convictions in their courts.

Amazingly, after the scathing remarks of the judge, where he apparently dressed down Mrs Bethel who he had presumed to have released the report, the AG attempted to portray herself as nobly running to Mrs Bethel’s rescue, conveniently forgetting to confess that she (Gibson) had released the report for publication—not the prosecutor.

In Mrs Bethel’s defense of herself, she stressed that the report was not issued by her, but was an internal document disseminated by Mrs Gibson. So, why would the AG attempt to scapegoat a commendable subordinate? Why didn’t she claim responsibility?

And, why must Mrs Bethel and Justice Lyons both articulate their fear that their outspokenness may lead to them being victimized? It is revolting to see that there are still certain Bahamian politicians that have yet to abandon what many Bahamians perceive to be vindictive, Machiavellian tactics used to get even.

Although Mrs Gibson may wish to be celebrated as a crime-fighting wonder-woman, she should get on with ensuring that justice is afforded to all Bahamians in a timely manner, rather than what appears to be selective justice.

It is a shame that it took an Australian-born judge to lobby for judicial independence and adherence to the law. Where were the Bahamian jurists? The problem in the Bahamas is that Bahamians in all sectors of our society simply accept almost anything that is thrown their way. We must take a cue from Justice Lyons and stand firmly for our rights and what is just.

Prime Minister Perry Christie should now set about reshuffling Mrs Gibson or request her resignation, particularly as it appears she has been a major player in a conflict between the branches of government—but I doubt he would!

KETURAH MCKINNEY

I would to publicly express my thanks to Ms Keturah McKinney, a customer service representative at BTC’S main office, who recently rendered top class service to me over a period of nearly two weeks. Ms McKinney is praiseworthy and a bright spot in the civil service and instead BTC.