Judge rules Senior Magistrate acted perversely, quashes decision

Jan 15, 2022 News

Brazilians placed on bail for cocaine charge…

Kaieteur News – In a historic High Court ruling yesterday, Justice Sandil Kissoon, quashed Senior Magistrate Alex Moore’s decision to grant two Brazilian men bail on a possession of narcotics charge, when he ruled that the decision was not only irrational but perverse.

Senior Magistrate Alex Moore.

The defendants, Andre Luiz Pereira, 31, and 64-year-old Salem Nobrega De Alencar, made their first court appearance on July 22, 2021, before Senior Magistrate Moore. The men were charged with illegal entry and for trafficking 453kgs of cocaine. Senior Magistrate Moore had placed them on $3M bail each on the cocaine charge and $50,000 bail each for the illegal entry charge.
According to reports, the cocaine was found after the plane the men were travelling in crashed on May 20, 2021 at Orealla, Region Six.
The Magistrate’s decision to grant bail to the Brazilian nationals had caused widespread criticism.
The Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, had later penned a letter in which he expressed his view on the matter and stated that the Magistrate’s decision was highly irregular and not in accordance with the relevant legal principles. He even indicated that the State would challenge some of these decisions.
Following through on his intentions, on August 18, 2021, the Attorney General filed a Fixed Date Application seeking a number of orders including, Orders of certiorari quashing the decisions of Senior Magistrate Moore, in granting bail to two Brazilian nationals on the narcotics and illegal entry charge.
Nandlall was supported by the prosecutor in the matter, Inspector Orin Joseph, and several investigating ranks who submitted affidavits to overturn the Magistrate’s decision.
Yesterday in a statement, Nandlall noted that this is perhaps the first time the State challenged a Magistrate’s decision to grant bail.
Pereira was represented by attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes, while the Attorney General appeared on behalf of the Commissioner of Police. After hearing detailed submissions from the Attorney General and Hughes, yesterday the court delivered a historic ruling granting both (a) and (b) of the Fixed Date Application that was filed by the Attorney General. Justice Kissoon granted the following: an order of certiorari, quashing the decision of Moore to grant bail to the Brazilian Nationals and a conservatory order staying and/or suspending the decision of Senior Magistrate Moore, in granting bail to the defendants.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC.

In handing down his ruling, Justice Kissoon stated that Senior Magistrate Moore did not satisfy the conditions for granting bail under section 94 of the Narcotics Act, Chapter 10:10, given that the Magistrate took into account factors relating to the offender and not the offence as is required by the said section 94. He noted that there was no basis, fact or circumstances existing or apparent nor any principle of law or consideration relevant or applicable in the circumstances of the matter to warrant or justify the decision of Senior Magistrate Moore to grant bail.
The Judge stated that the Magistrate committed grave errors in the interpretation and application of Section 94. Justice Kissoon held that Senior Magistrate Moore quantified erroneous and irrelevant considerations which had no bearing on the issue and matter before him.
Moreover, he also held that the decision of the Magistrate to grant bail was in the circumstances erroneous in law, without unlawful basis, plainly irrational, untenable, perverse, and made without jurisdiction as it fell outside the bound of what can be construed as reasonable in the Wednesday session. Justice Kissoon concluded that the decision of the Magistrate to admit bail was not a judicial one.
Justice Kissoon had granted an interim order suspending the Brazilian Nationals bail pending the outcome of the matter. However, with his new ruling, the Magistrate’s decision to grant bail has been quashed.