Magistrate Alex Moore yet to face JSC

Feb 28, 2015 News

After spending 93 days off the bench, embattled Magistrate Alex Moore is yet to have his day before the relatively new Judicial Service Commission and it is unclear when he will appear before the body.

Magistrate, Alex Moore

Today marks three months since Moore, who was dispensing matters at the busy Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court, was served a suspension letter by the JSC following allegations of inappropriate behaviour made by East Coast Demerara businesswoman, Seerojanie Singh.
The decision to suspend Moore came as no real surprise since around the said time Moore was being showered with severe criticisms for handing down a five-year suspended sentence to confessed drug dealer, Leonard Bacchus.
Moore, unlike any other Magistrate sanctioned by the JSC, has not taken any action against the Commission since and is waiting for his hearing.
When contacted by this publication, Senior Counsel Rex McKay, who Moore has retained to represent his interest, said that he has not yet been informed whether the Magistrate has a hearing set before the Commission.
While at least one other Magistrate has gone to the courts seeking legal remedies against the JSC, since his suspension Moore has done no such thing, the Senior Counsel confirmed.
City Magistrate Chandra Sohan, who recently received marching orders from the Commission, had weighed heavily on Rule 80 of the Commission’s rule which specifies that if no such inquiry is held within 60 days, then the Magistrate can return to work.
The JSC’s Rule 80, sub rule six, specifies that in such an event the suspension is deemed to have been set aside; the effect being as if the suspension had never taken place.
In fact, when questioned about his client’s stance on this rule, McKay acknowledged that the rule had indeed been violated in Moore’s case but said that his client was waiting for his day before the Commission. He said when the time arises, they will deal with it.
McKay told this publication that he has not written to the Commission; whether to seek advice as to the way they intend to pursue the matter or what their stance on Moore currently is.
Meanwhile, Kaieteur News has been reliably informed that a date for Moore’s hearing has not yet been fixed. This publication was told that an announcement to that effect may be made available when decided upon.
Singh, who resides and operates her business at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara, had told Kaieteur News that she appeared before Moore after being cross charged with a man for using abusive language.
The woman explained that the case against her was dismissed and as the matter against the man continued to be heard, the Magistrate, with the file before him, confronted her about each of the alleged abusive words which stemmed from the encounter.
She explained that he questioned both the defendants about the documented profanities and degrading demand for sexual favours.
By way of complaint, the businesswoman approached the Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General, Anil Nandlall, and wrote to the Chancellor of the Judiciary as well as to Ombudsman, Justice Winston Moore. Within days, Moore was suspended.
The said Magistrate also featured prominently in the news last year when he handed down an unprecedented suspended five-year sentence to a man who pleaded guilty to trafficking in more than 60 kilograms of cocaine, worth $300M.
The man, Leonard Bacchus was also given a slap on the wrist suspended sentence of two years for being in unlawful possession of 125, 12-gauge cartridges and 115, .32 rounds of ammunition, which also stemmed from the raid on his block 20 Enmore/Haslington Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara home on August 16, 2001.
The Magistrate’s decision highlighted the disparity in sentencing, where other sections of society are sentenced to draconian time in prison for lesser amounts of cocaine or offences.
The Director of Public Prosecutions has signaled her decision to appeal Magistrate Moore’s sentence, since there is no provision in the laws of Guyana for non-custodial sentence for persons found guilty of drug trafficking.
The Magistrate reportedly defended his decision, by pointing to the length of time and resources the defendant expended on the case which took three years to be completed.
However, his decision did not go down well with President of the Guyana Bar Association Ronald Burch-Smith, who described it as highly unusual.
“It is highly unusual. I don’t know what he heard or what the situation is exactly, but in the normal course of things, this (the suspended sentence) would not happen.”
“The section specifies and would have at least made way for some jail time and the fine is mandatory – here the sentence is highly unusual…Mr. Moore seems to be breaking new ground here,” the Attorney-at-Law is on record as saying.
It is the said Moore whose decision to sentence a popular radio show host, Ossie Rogers earlier last year was overruled by the High Court which deemed that he had overstepped his boundary by ordering the man complete community service on a traffic offence.
Recently, the JSC dismissed Magistrates Sohan and Geeta Chandan-Edmond, who both presided in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, on a number of infractions. Both Attorneys-at-Law have since stated publically that the JSC’s decisions were unjust.
Sohan, who faced years-old allegations, said that he never had an inquiry but rather appeared briefly before the commission. Similarly, Chandan-Edmond was dragged before the JSC for matters dating back to 2009.
Both lawyers complained that both the complainant and the adjudicator in their proceedings were the JSC.
Moore is off on full pay.