I was, I admit, perhaps a little too hasty in my comment and for that I apologize to Amused and BU. But I do not believe that the state of the local justice system, however allegedly piteous, should provide any justification for Billinsgate behaviour by a senior member of the Bar to a High Court judge.We always say, ‘with the greatest respect”, even if we do not mean it!

@Jeff. “Crap” works. If you think I am talking crap, then bloody well say so. I can assure you that I will say when I think that you are talking crap. That is the damned trouble with people not saying what they mean.

I do not defer on this. I have said that Alair’s actions were, no matter the circumstances, tasteless and shocking. Without knowing the circumstances, given the lack of a justice system and the international odium in which was is trying to pass itself off fraudulently as a justice system (not allegedly, FACT) I am reluctant to rush to judgement. As so should you be, Jeff. If we were trying this as a criminal case, we would be asking the jury to consider mitigating factors and these would include, but not be limited to, the provocation given Alair by the judge. If this were a civil case as in negligence, we would be asked to consider contributory negligence. I mean, Jeff, you teach this stuff.

So, Jeff, I think that you are losing the plot and jumping to judgement and I want to know what happened that a senior QC with extensive experience before the courts of the region and before the Privy Council and afterwards the CCJ, was so incensed by that judge/JUNIOR of limited (if any) actual practice. Please don’t give me that claptrap about respect for the office – the office has no credibility any longer and respect is a thing earned, not demanded and the respect the office earned through former judges has been totally erroded by this bunch of incompetents. And there is no “allegation” there, Jeff. The facts and abundant and proved.

I rest.

Did Alair have any recourse against provocation other than bending his back to the judge??…………this question was meant for you Amused.

Should read……..Sorry Amused.

Panty power…..hee, hee,……………….now if we can only find out the reason for the catfight which is starting to look more like it was of a personal nature……………….the authorities (not holding my breath) can find a way to rid the judiciary of both embarrassments.

@David. Frankly, how can anyone DISAGREE? It is a MESS. It is crystal clear that, from the CJ down, the judges have no respect or consideration for members of the Bar. A lack of respect that has finally driven members of the Bar to reciprocate in kind – and about time too.

The ire of Casewell (who, since birth and before has not had an original thought in his head) and that of his master was raised when Sleepy Smith spoke his mind at Lindsay Worrell’s funeral. Then, the ire of Caswell and his master was once again raised when certain licensed legal practitioners held the Act as a nullity ab initio that they could be forced by law to join the Bar Association. Now, a QC has objected to grave discourtesy shown him by a judge in a rather forthright manner – and she is “distressed”. But not distressed because of her arrant bad manners and lack of any kind of consideration. No, she is throwing a tantrum like a spoiled brat, because one of her seniors and betters has chosen to instruct her harshly – and about high time too. And Caswell, slavishly following the same master who got the judicial system into this mess in the first place, sees nothing wrong with the judge’s conduct, or rather lack of it.

And in all of it, these jackasses on the bench, from the CJ down, don’t seem to realise that their conduct is no longer a secret and is being fully and repeatedly ventilated for the edification of the people who pay their damned salaries and perks. And the people are fed the hell up with this bunch of incompetent freeloaders. And it is high time that the CJ invoked section 84 of the Constitution and fired the deadwood – and if he will not do it, then the PM should invoke it and FIRE HIM!!!!

Something has to be done, or we had best just get the maniac in North Korea to aim his rockets at us and blow the entire country to hell out of the water. And I am not over-stating this. These idiots on the Bench and the Registry are ruining the country. And it is time that the legislature did something serious about it.

Amused

You are a liar and a fraud. I have also heard from people that were there. The judge recused herself and apparently that message got to most of the other lawyers and somehow Mr. Shepherd did not get the message? Out of courtesy, the Judge called the lawyers together to explain that the matter was not on her list and that she had previously recused herself. The Judge felt that she could not deal with the matter because of a conflict of interest. What more should she do: give one side grounds for appeal.

Amused, you are on a witch-hunt and are prepared to sink to lying to make your case. For you though, it is rise to lying.

@Casewell. Really. My information is that it was before another judge, who had recused herself and because if that, it was allocated to Sonja Richards. I have no information that she also recused herself. And slice and dice it how you will, for her to roll into court three hours late is highly discourteous. And then to walk out on a senior silk because he dared make mention of this is a sure sign of advanced megalomania. You see, unlike you, Casewell, I see the court lists – and so do the judges (or they are sent to them, but I suspect they never bother to read them). And if Ms Richards had taken the time to read the lists, she would have seen that she was required in court at 09:30.

You say, ” The judge recused herself and apparently that message got to most of the other lawyers and somehow Mr. Shepherd did not get the message?”

I ask if the judge had recused herself, how come all counsel were present in court waiting for her to try the case?

You say, “Out of courtesy, the Judge called the lawyers together to explain that the matter was not on her list and that she had previously recused herself.”

So what are we talking about here? Did she call the other lawyers together for 09:30 to explain and then leave them cooling their heels for 3 hours until she deigned to turn up? OR, did she call them together to advise them that she had recused herself and ommitted to add Mr Shepherd to the list of those she advised?

Also, are you aware that senior silks in Barbados charge an hourly rate of $750+? So, could you explain to me just how if can possibly, except in a fevered mind (for want of a better word) like yours, possibly be considered to be “a courtesy” to expense clients for lawyers fees running into the tens of thousands of dollars?

And since the CoP was one of the parties to the case, along with a whole lot of police officers, guess who foots most of the bill for this “judge’s courtesy”? Cn anyone assist Casewell to find the answer to that question?

@Well Well. It was manageable until the tenure of DS, who went straight from AG to CJ. I am not saying that it was ideal before, because the volume of cases makes that impossible in any court system. However, DS had a say as AG in the appointment of judges and did he ever give us some losers – judges taking a year and a half and now much more, to give judgments on simple matters. Then, as CJ, it simply compounded the error until the courts were inundated with incompetents on the bench. Now you have Casewell trying to persuade us all that anyone who points out the terminal decay in the justice system is “on a witch hunt.” Whether it be Sleepy or Alair or basically anyone who is not prepared to feed the illusory “legacy” of his master. To hell with the havoc it wreaks on the taxpayers. The Master must have his own views of his legacy universally accepted – and so what if it ends up by really hurting Barbados – as it has done and as it is doing? Remember the political expediency that was the Greenland dump? Well, you can now dump the entire justice system in that, but no one must complain, because it erodes the respect and status of a system that is as dead week old fish and twice as smelly. Remember, DS was AG from 1994 and then CJ until 2009/10. Almost all of the judges were appointed during his tenure. The Registrar doesn’t help either. We have had a run of useless Registrars since the appointment of Marie McCormac (aka Lady Simmons) and they all fully expect to have their incompetence rewarded by being promoted to the Bench, you know. The nonsense has got to stop.

When complaints of misconduct or theft was reported by lawyers with clients being the victims was reported to DS, he and the BAR lied to taxpayers for years that nothing could be done………no relief for clients, his hands were tied………….i hope he can sleep at night, i doubt it cause i am hearing otherwise. The situation was so bad at one point i understand by the time they eased Valton Benn off the magistrate’s bench, it had been years since he wrote any decisions, tons of his cases pending…….all at taxpayers expense.

@Gabriel Tackle
This woman was his demise because of her rude and belligerent attitude toward that office when she was employed there as legal counsel.Actually she engineered his exit through her political contacts
******

I heard that there was bad blood between an Gov’t mandarin and a female associate, the mandarin subsequently made a disparaging comment to this female in the presence of others and after a complaint was made to the MOF who was also the PM the mandarin was asked to apologise.

When the requested apology did not materialize the mandarin was relieved of his duties, however up to this day no “official” reason has been provided by anyone in an official capacity

Well Well April 15, 2013 at 10:14 AM …”Panty power…the authorities can find a way to rid the judiciary of both embarrassments.”

Hear, hear. I second that.

@Well well “so why did David Simmons keep insisting for so many decades that he could do nothing to discipline the criminal element in the judiciary??…………and why did successive Prime Ministers who you say also has such powers of removal, did not invoke such powers back then.???”

Because everybody else is everybody’s else’s cousin.

Alair, hopefully by his action and his later explanation – frustration by the judicial system – is paving the way for the long over due over haul of the system. Afterall he is the first of two lawyers in Barbados to bring an action against a judge for non-performance of duties!