JUDGE’S CHARGE

DELIVERED ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2018, BY HIS HONOR JUDGE GEORGE W.SMITH, RESIDENT/ASSIGNED CIRCUIT JUDGE, 15^TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, RIVER GEE COUNTY,

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA, NOVEMBER TERM OF COURT, 2018.

 

TOPIC: Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda: The Administration of Justice’s Perspective.

“And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord.” 1 Samuel, Chapter 7, Verses 15-17.

“We ourselves, or in our absence abroad our Chief Justice, will send two Justices to each county four times a year, and these justices, with four knights of the county elected by the county itself, shall hold court, on the day and in the place where the court meets.” Section 18, Magna Carta (1215).

 

Mr. Superintendent and County officials;

Specialized Courts Judges and Magistrates;

County Attorney and Members of the Justice Ministry Family;

The Public Defenders;

The Clerk of Court, Clerical and Ministerial Staffs;

The Principal, and Senior Students of TwehJikley High School;

Prospective Jurors;

Citizens of River Gee County.

 

Pursuant to statute I should have formally open this Court on the second Monday of November, same being November 12, 2018. Due to manifest necessity – challenges of our highways – the November 12, 2018’s formal opening wasimpossible. Hence, the opening of this Court nuc pro tunc, that is, with retroactive effect.

Our statute, by the use of the word “shall” in said statute mandatorily – not discretionarily – requires the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia to assign all circuit judges to the various circuit courts of the Country on a rotational basis; to which of the circuits the Chief Justice assigns a circuit judge is his/her discretion. The statute provides that: “The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall assign, on a rotating system, a Circuit Judge to eachquarterly session of the various circuits….” [Emphasis added]. See section 3.9 Assignment of judges to Circuits, Title 17: Judiciary Law, 4LCLR.    

Unfortunately, circuit judges are now being tied down to their respective resident circuits as if they are mere local officials. For instance, I have been assigned to this circuit for more than two years. Judges being resident circuit judges of their respective circuits does not make them local judges, but judges of national status because of their assignability to all the circuits of Liberia. Diminishing the status of circuit judges to that of local officialsa fortiori lessens, inter alia, the status of the Judiciary, a co-equal to the Legislative and Executive branches of our Government.

The Holy Bible and legal history, as per the quotations in the preamble of this CHARGE, tell us that the main reason for circuit-riding, traditionally, was to have judges on a seasonal basis travel around the country to take justice to the door steps of the people, rather than the reverse. Liberia’s legal system being modeled after that of America’s, this was how Liberia inherited the practice of circuit-riding from the Anglo-American common law whereby circuit judges travel quarterly in the year to preside rotationally over the various circuit courts of the Country.

Another reason for circuit-riding, I believe, was to get judges have a feel regarding the cultural and socio-economic lives of the people, indeed, the ordinary poor people, to whom the judges administer justice. The institution of circuit-riding enables circuit judges to familiarize themselves with others of different backgrounds in order to, according to a US attorney, Mr. Henry C. Clark, “see other habits – learn the reality of life – its sorrows – its conflicts – face the nature of man….”

My tenure as a circuit judge for the past five years plus gives me a feel as to the living conditions of the people, the ordinary poor masses, to whom I administer justice. I am therefore impelled to center this JUDGE’S CHARGE on the topic: Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda: The Administration of Justice’s Perspective.

My definition of “pro-poor agenda” is Government’s program whereby the Government will proactively seek the welfare of the poor vulnerable masses. The phrase “administration of justice” – impartial justice – was defined by Mr. Justice Thomas McCant-Stewart “as the cornerstone of a nation.” There are several ways that Government, from the perspective of the administration of justice, the cornerstone of Liberia, can successfully achieve its Pro-poor Agenda.Let me name just one: A short-term fixing of the highways.

Except the Sixth Judicial Civil Assize Court and the Sexual Offenses Court, Criminal Assize Court “E”, First Judicial Circuit, Montserrado County, all circuits in the fifteen counties of Liberia convene four times a year in quarterly sessions known as the February, May, August and November terms of court. These quarterly terms of court convene the second Monday in each of said month. During the session of court, circuit judges travel rotationally to all the fifteen counties of Liberia to administer justice to the people, predominantly the poor.

During the February and May terms of court, the highway from Ganta to Zwedru through River Gee and Pleebo, Maryland Counties;the highway from Buchannan to River Cess County through Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties; the highway from Tubmanburg to Gbarpolu County; and the Voinjama highway, though very bad, these highways are less difficult to travel through as compared to travelling on those highways during the August and partly the November terms of court when said highways are more or less impassable due to thick and deep muds caused by heavy rains.

The consequences of travelling on the highways named during the rainy season are: circuit judges, the poor travelling masses travelling on commercial vehicles, trucks and other vehicles transporting goods and services to the improvised masses are all stranded in muds along the highways for days to weeks thereby posing danger to lives; vehicles, goods/merchandise and other properties being transported to the masses of the counties affected by bad roads are damaged on the highways; and the societal and economic lives of our poor masses in those counties are not only adversely affected, but the national economy as a whole is adversely challenged. I state these consequences just in passing.

Now, the consequence of our bad and impassablehighways as it relates to the administration of justice. In those counties adversely affected by bad highways, material witnesses find it difficult and sometimes impossible to appear in court to testify. And when witnesses don’t appear in court cases are not heard for the term and unfortunately continued to the next term of court thereby delaying and denying justice to the people, predominantly the poor. The cause of our bad highways to the counties named above which impedes the travel of circuit judges is a reason why the circuit courts in those counties are not opened on time.

The cause of our impassable bad highways duringthe rainy season is due to heavy and continual rain fall and climate change whereby the rainy season extends to our traditional dry season.  The cause of rain fall is anact of God, over which man has no control. But our bad impassable highways are also caused by act (or omission) of man, over which we have control and can manage.For instance, we can divert water to other canals by way of a proper drainage system; rather than permitting the main roads of the highways, intended for vehicular passage, to be converted into water storages resulting to the extremely heavy and deep muds on the highways.

It must be noted that it is not the whole stretch of our highways that are bad and impassable during the rainy season. It is only a few and infinitesimal parts of the highways. We must control and manage these few bad areas of our highways to make them travelable and passable during the rainy season. It takes planning, commitment, courage, proactivity and a Mary-Brohaic approach to remedy this perennial problem of the highways. And the fixing of these few bad areas can be started now and completed during this dry season. Yes, it requires money to do this. However, the disadvantages attending the bad highways during the rainy season by far outweighthe money it takes to fix the few challenging areas of these highways. In other words, the socio-economic benefit outweighs the money it takes to repair just those few damaged spots of our highways.

On the principle of coordination amongst the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary, I respectfully charge that the Legislative and Executive branches fix those few damaged spots of the aforesaid highways during this dry season to assist circuit judges in fulfilling their constitutional and statutorymandate to administer justice to all.

Finally, Honorable MabutuNyepan, Minister of Public Works, is particularly hereby charged, as Counsellor-at-law, officer and arm of court, to have those few damaged areas of the above-named highways fixed against this dry season to avoid the obstruction of the administration of justice by circuit judges during the August and November terms of Court. CounsellorNyepan is further charged to make his return to the Assigned Circuit Judges of Gbarpolu, Lofa, Nimba, River Cess, Sinoe, Grand Kru, Maryland and River Gee Counties during the August 2019 Term of Court. His return shall be filed to the judges along the highways as they travel to their respective assigned circuit courts during the August 2019 Term of Court.

The short-term fixing of those few challenging areas of said highways is a desideratum to the administration of justice, the cornerstone of our Country, and Government’s Pro-Poor Agenda.

There are twelve (12) cases on the docket. Rule 7 of this Court charges us as follows: “Clearing the trial docket by the disposition of cases, shall be the foremost concern of the judge assigned to preside over the term”. Lawyers, arms of this Court, and all actors in the Court involved in the administration justice are hereby charged to cooperate with this Court in clearing the docket during this term of Court.

With the power in me vested, I hereby declare the formal opening of the August 2018 Term of this Honorable Court for judicial business. AND IT IS HEREBY SO ORDERED.

God bless this Honorable Court and save the State.