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| Govt agrees to pay former prosecutor’s legal costs |
Artesia Davis
Guardian Senior Reporter artesia@nasguard.com
Published: Jun 21, 2012
The government has agreed to pay 90 percent of the legal costs awarded to former deputy chief prosecutor Cheryl Grant-Bethell. Grant-Bethell had asked the Supreme Court to review a decision by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) to reject her application to head the Department of Public Prosecutions. The JLSC gave the job to Jamaican expatriate Vinette Graham-Allen and named Grant-Bethell as deputy law reform commissioner. Brian Simms, QC, informed the Court of Appeal yesterday that a challenge to the award of costs had been withdrawn. Now Grant-Bethell’s attorneys, Maurice Glinton and Wayne Munroe, have to submit their bill. Senior Justice Jon Isaacs determined that commission did not treat Grant-Bethell fairly by determining she was not fit for the appointment because of unfounded information contained in a report from the Security Intelligence Branch. Isaacs said the intelligence should not have been considered in the decision-making process. Grant-Bethell was never told about the allegation and did not have an opportunity to defend her reputation. Speaking to the press outside of court yesterday, Munroe noted that the court action was about having the most-qualified person head the department. He said given Grant-Bethell’s experience in prosecutions it made no sense to appoint her to the Law Reform Commission, which the former administration did. He noted that Graham-Allen, who was appointed in 2010, has yet to prosecute a murder case notwithstanding the court backlog. |
