Criminal Court “A” Grants Motion For Dismissal By Richard Stephens/LINA MONROVIA, December 24 (LINA)-The Presiding Judge of Criminal Court ‘A’ at the Temple of Justice, Judge J. Boima Kontoe, Tuesdaygranted a motion to dismiss the murder case involving incarcerated Gifty Washington. The Liberia News Agency reports that the motion was filed on December 17, 2014 by the defendant’s legal team headed by Atty Elisha T. Forekeyoh. In the motion, the defense counsel argued that the defendant was arrested and incarcerated at the Monrovia Central Prison by the Monrovia City Magisterial Court on June 11, 2013, for the alleged crime of murder, stressing that “since that time and up to the filing of the motion, the defendant has not been indicted by a grand jury as a matter of law; thus giving the court jurisdiction to hear the merits of the allegation against the Defendant.” The defense counsel also argued that the Liberian statute provides under chapter 18, Section 18.2 that unless good cause is shown, a court shall dismiss a complaint against a defendant who is not indicted by the end of the next succeeding term of court after his or her arrest for an indictable offense. In further argument, the motion said the prosecution’s failure to indict the defendant and proceed with the trial of the case is a violation of his (defendant’s) constitutional rights to speedy trial as enshrined in Article 21(h) of the 1986 Liberian constitution, and as such; the motion to dismiss will properly lie, noting that in the wake of said allegations against the defendant, the state is under legal obligation to properly bring the defendant under the jurisdiction of the court so as to prove the allegations beyond reasonable doubt. “The state’s failure to proceed with the least indictment for more than sixteen terms of court and over four years since the defendant’s arrest, is a violation of our statute, and serves as a basis for the dismissal of the complaint against the defendant,” according to the motion. LINA
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 09:08:32 +0000
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