AG’s courtroom outburst…Judge should have held AG in contempt

Apr 01, 2017 News

– Former Chief Justice

By Brushell Blackman
A former Chief Justice (CJ) is contending that Justice Franklin Holder did not exercise his

Attorney General Basil Williams SC

authority in a manner that was befitting of a Judge and believes that Holder should have held the Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams in contempt of court for his ‘disrespectful’ behaviour in his courtroom.
“He (Justice Holder) was not assertive enough in the way he dealt with the matter; he is in charge of that courtroom, not Mr. Williams”.
The former CJ said that Justice Holder should have known the powers he could wield and should have taken the AG to task, and brought contempt charges against Williams in the courtroom at that time when he is alleged to have made the comment that he (Williams) can say what he wants, when he wants, because that’s how he is.
The former Chief Justice said that if what is being reported is true, Williams was naughty and should have known better, and even if he is saying he was taken out of context, he should still apologize to the Judge.
The former high ranking Judiciary official said that he is at a loss as to why Holder has written to the Chancellor, “Why is he (Holder) running to his colleagues for rescue”. The official said that it should not have gotten that far, and if the AG knew a potential stay at Camp Street was hanging over his head for contempt, Williams would have apologized in open court.
Addressing the matter of the explanation that the AG needs to provide to the President, the official said that the President should not have been brought into the matter in the first place. The official said that while Williams is a part of the Executive, he was not exercising that authority in court but rather, he was appearing as an attorney for the state.
And it is for this reason the official has stated that the matter does not concern the head of State and he should have stayed far from the issue. According to the former CJ, the fact that Williams was not functioning in court as the AG, the matter should have never engaged the attention of the President.
“So if Mr. Williams has a quarrel on the street, he needs to explain his actions to Mr. Granger?”
The official said that with the President asking for an explanation, it means that the AG needs to answer to his client, since he is representing the State in the Carvil Duncan case.
The former CJ believes that such a position sends the wrong message.
“It looks like everything they want the President to get involved in, and he should not have been involved in this matter at any point.”