Jury selection in a rape trial involving former premier McKeeva Bush begins Monday, after the West Bay West MP was denied an adjournment in the matter.
Bush’s legal team had sought a short delay to allow them to secure the services of an elite, female King’s Counsel barrister to lead his defence.
They argued that this would give him “equal arms” with the prosecution.
Bush, also a former Speaker of the House, faces a rape charge over an incident that is alleged to have occurred more than two decades ago.
He has denied the charge.
A jury selection process is expected to commence shortly after 10am. Scores of potential jurors were sent home with questionnaires last week.
The commencement of the trial comes despite pleas from Bush’s legal team last week to delay the matter for two weeks to allow them to secure leading counsel.
Bush’s right to choose legal counsel
On Friday, 21 June, Dennis Brady, who represents the embattled veteran politician, told the court that they had found a female King’s Counsel who would be willing to defend Bush on the condition that the trial takes place in July.
“Mr Bush has an inherent right to choose legal counsel,” said Brady, arguing that it would be fair for Bush to have “equal arms,” given that the prosecution had flown in British barrister Eloise Marshall, KC.
“My claim to fame is catching thieves… in a different profession when I was a police officer,” said Brady. “If the prosecution is going to have a KC, it is only fair that Mr Bush be allowed to have equal arms.”
When opposing the application, Marshall told the court that the prosecution’s main witness, the complainant who made the allegations against Bush, was in a fragile state and would not be accommodating to an adjournment.
The case has been adjourned twice at the request of Bush’s legal team. On each occasion, they expressed that they were not trial ready and were in need of disclosure evidence and lead counsel.
Brady told the court that the case involved an allegation dating back more than 20 years, so he didn’t believe a further two weeks’ delay was significant.
When ruling against Brady’s application, Justice Cheryll Richards, who presided over the case, stated that her job was to strike an even balance so the case can move forward in a way that was fair.
“I have real sympathy for your position,” Richards told Brady.
She added, “But I am concerned as to the state of the complainant… The issue is where does the balance of justice lie in respect of this application?”
Richards stated Brady should proceed with the case, noting she had “not heard or seen any issues of complexity in this matter that you cannot deal with”.
Visiting judge appointed to preside over trial
Justice Roy Jones has been appointed the presiding judge in the trial, on the “advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission” according to a press release issued on Saturday, 22 June.
“Justice Jones has had a long and distinguished record as a jurist,” it stated. “He served in the Jamaican Judiciary as a Judge of the High Court and as acting Judge of Appeal before being appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of the Bahamas in 2011.”
Jones is said to have retired from the Bahamas Judiciary in September of last year, having served for as an Appeal judge for eight years
During a brief stint in 2010, he sat as an acting judge for Cayman’s Grand Court between January and March 2010 in the criminal division.
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