The Importance of Trials

https://www.newstatesman.com/

Famous Antiguan Cases - Attorney General v Antigua Times

"Corporations are people too"  It can be said that these words uttered by Mitt Romney the billionaire  American Presidential candidate were his most notorious. It certainly damaged his popularity. He was right though. He was talking about a decision by the US Supreme Court that determined that corporations had a right of free speech just like everyone else did, pursuant to the American Constitution.

In the British Commonwealth countries however, that issue had been settled by the Privy Council in 1975 in the Antigua Times case.

The Antigua Times was a newspaper created in Antigua in 1970. It was owned by a company registered as Antigua Times Ltd. The prime mover and shaker in the company was Reuben Harris, then an aspiring  politician. The following the year the government introduced heavy registration requirements for newspapers. The company could not afford to keep the paper in circulation so they immediately filed legal proceedings to challenge the new law. 

Many prominent and promising lawyers appeared for both sides as the case moved from the High Court to the Court of Appeal and then the Privy Counsel. Those no longer with us include Sir Louis Lockhart (who was Attorney General), and Sydney Christian. The only one now with us is Franklyn Clarke who is now Queen's Counsel. 

The Government's team argued (among other things) that although the Constitution protected the rights of a "person" that did not include companies. The Privy Council rejected that argument and stated that the government's position would lead the absurd result that a newspaper publisher would lose the right of free speech if he or she incorporated their business.  In fact, they stated that the local courts had already made a similar conclusion in the earlier case of Camacho & Sons Ltd v Attorney General.

Today the Antigua Times case frequently features in text books and court decisions as one of the most important decisions of the Privy Council.

The really unfortunate part of the story is that the newspaper no longer exists.

Famous Antiguan Cases - Bird v O'Neale

Sir Vere Cornwall Bird is revered as the father of the nation, first Prime Minister, first Premier and a life-long trade unionist. What is not well known is that he was a litigant in a case that went all the way to the Privy Council.  This is the case of Bird v O'nNeale and it is the second case in this series. This case is still one of the leading cases on strikes and picketing. 
Miss O'Neale was the owner of a drug store in St. John;s. Miss Averyl Winter was a clerk employed at the store on a weekly basis. She was dismissed by Miss O'Neale without reason nor notice, but she was paid a week's wages in lieu of notice.
Miss Winter was a member of the Antigua Trades and Labour Union and the Union agreed to take up her case. Miss O'Neale refused to budge in the negotiations and she did not offer any further compensation. The Union's  executive then organised a daily picket of the drug store. This was a very aggressive picket, as the picketers were paid and they discouraged pedestrians from entering the store. Ultimately this led to court proceedings between Mr. Bird and Miss O'Neale. 
Now at that time Trade unions were sued  by businesses ( for nuisance, conspiracy ant intimidation) if they organised a picket or a strike.
Miss O'Neale's lawyer argued that in order for there to be a lawful picket, the picketers had to be protesting an unlawful dismissal. Since, they argued, the dismissal was lawful, the picket was therefore unlawful. The Privy Council rejected this argument. There was a bona fide dispute between the union and the employer concerning the compensation due to Miss Winter and the fact that she had been validly dismissed did not mean that they could not engage in a picket.
Picketing is an important form of industrial action today. It should not be taken for granted

Famous Antiguan cases - Margetson v The Attorney General

I decided to start a new project. I had set up a blog ages ago but hardly use it. With new zeal and a little effort I am going to talk about .... surprise surprise .... law.  I think it would be great to start talking to the public about some of the Antiguan court cases that have wide significance. 

The first case in the series is that of my Godfather, the late Robert "Bobby" Margetson.

Bobby was a well known radio and tv personality in Antigua in his day. He is fondly remembered as the host of the "Top of The Form" show. Less well known is that there was an attempt to deport him from Antigua in 1966.

Bobby was born in 1928 in what was then the "Presidency" of Montserrat. His father, a medical doctor, moved to Antigua in 1947 and Bobby re-located to Antigua in that year. He became a civil servant but the restlessness which would characterise his life led him to study in England in 1956. There he married and started a family. In 1965 his wife and family moved to Antigua. He joined them the next year but continued to move  in and out of Antigua without any restrictions or the need for a work permit.

During the Christmas season of 1966  the authorities informed him that he could stay in Antigua until February 1967 but not beyond then; he was also told that he needed a work permit in order to work in Antigua. He applied for the work permit and the application was denied.

Bobby retained the late Sydney Christian who immediately filed a constitutional claim in the High Court. 

The case eventually went to the Court of Appeal and the Court had no difficulty concluding that the actions of the authorities were unlawful and that they had no right to impose restrictions on his movements. 

The case is still significant today. The powers available to the immigration authorities must be used for a lawful purpose. Anything less does not belong in a democratic society.

More to come.

The Case for the Zimmerman verdict

Yesterday a Florida jury found George Zimmerman NOT GUILTY of the murder of Trayvon Martin. This case attracted a lot of attention because it brought into focus the role of race in the American Justice System.
For me, the jury has spoken. They have the final word and we should all now hope for peace and healing.
We should never expect the legal system to be perfect but we must expect it to be fair. The jury did their job; they considered the evidence presented by two very good legal teams. The Judge maintained balance and did not allow one side to have an unfair advantage over the other. Regardless of how emotions may stir because of the outcome, all the elements of a fair trial were present. Apart from that, It so happens that I think the verdict was correct.
I fully expected Zimmerman to be found NOT GUILTY. Now Zimmerman was told by the police to stay put. He ignored those instructions and approached Trayvon. Minutes later Trayvon was dead. For many of us this was enough to convict him. However, put your father, or your brother or your son or any loved one in the place of Zimmerman. Is that alone the kind of evidence that should convict them of murder???
The prosecution faced the real battle dealing with the confrontation between the two. The prosecution witnesses contradicted themselves and each other. A really good prosecutor would be on top of this early. Yet in this case it happened over and over. This is where the Defence team eventually had an advantage and this is why Zimmerman is free today.
Now, do I think Zimmerman is innocent? NO. But the prosecution did not prove his guilt. Sad but true.

Colours

Today I start my blogging experience by making a case for the #Coloursfete next weekend. You can see more about the fete here http://youtu.be/SIlM3-Wefxg
Some people are disappointed that Tian Wynter is not in the entertainment line-up. But hey, Colours has always attracted a mature crowd and this year, patrons will get their money's worth with a high energy performance by Denyse Plummer.
All the funds from the Colours fete are spent on charitable causes sponsored by the Rotary Club. This year's venue is Splash so there is gonna be lots of space. Lots to eat and drink too. You will not be disappointed.
So next week we doing it Vegas Style.........and remember what happens in Vegas..... stays in Vegas!