Justice Stanley John, who earlier this year halted a Grand Court case in which former Premier McKeeva Bush was charged with indecently assaulting two female civil servants, says he made an error in putting a stop to the entire case.
In his 27 Feb. judgment, which was released in full on Wednesday following a five-month embargo, John says while he was correct to halt the case in relation to the charges involving one of the women, he had erred in dropping the other two charges, which, he says, can still be prosecuted.
After hearing submissions from Bush’s defence counsel two weeks into the trial, John directed that all the proceedings be dropped, but in his full judgment, he said, “On reflection, I have concluded that I was wrong to stay the entire case, and that the order of the court should reflect that only counts two and four should be stayed.”
Bush had been charged with two counts of indecent assault and two counts of common assault in relation to his actions at a cocktail party hosted by government at The Ritz-Carlton in September 2022. Counts two and four referred to the alleged offences against a woman who had told police she did not believe Bush’s behaviour towards her that night had been criminal.
John said there was nothing preventing the Crown prosecution from seeking to try Bush again on the other two counts. Those related to allegations that the West Bay West MP, while intoxicated, had kissed the bare shoulders of the other woman.
The judge issued a short ruling in February, stating that he was halting the case because of an “abuse of process” on the part of the prosecution. He said at the time that he would give his full written judgment at a later date.
That full judgment was embargoed until the completion of another case against Bush, which ended in a jury acquitting the veteran politician of rape and indecent assault on Monday this week.
On Wednesday, Justice Marlene Carter read out the “salient aspects” of John’s full judgment, in which the visiting judge stated that his decision to halt the trial was “based solely on the disclosure information provided by the defence during the course of the trial”.
John, a Trinidad and Tobago national who sits on the Turks and Caicos Islands court of appeal and who was appointed specifically to preside over the Bush case, said in light of those disclosures, “I formed the view that the prosecutorial system was being misused by person or persons for their own agenda.”
Alleged victim said no crime occurred
In relation to the two counts which John says should be dropped, he noted that the alleged victim had indicated to police as early as September 2022 that she was not interested in prosecuting Bush and “did not think the matter rose to the level of a crime”.
During the trial, the court had heard that Bush had left “teeth marks” on the woman’s hand. In her testimony, she had told the jury, “I am not sure it is a crime to be a drunk, old dude putting a hickey on a hand.”
In her submission relating to an abuse of process by the prosecution, Bush’s lawyer, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins, KC, had told the judge that the woman was “tricked into providing an account which she had made clear she did not want used”.
Emails between the woman and the investigating police officer were submitted to the court in the course of the trial, in which she expressed her reluctance to move forward with a prosecution.
One of those emails referred to a letter the woman had written to her superiors outlining what had happened at The Ritz-Carlton, which was included as part of the evidence. In that email, the woman wrote, “This was for internal purposes and not something I expected to be used in court. I simply wanted them to be aware of how situations like this should be addressed, as well as how personnel should respond.”
The judge also referred to an email from one of the woman’s bosses, a senior civil servant, who had written to police to say he would not be providing a statement. In that email, he said, “Above all else, I’ve been concerned about confidentiality in this matter. I’ve been approached by three separate individuals who are not RCIPS officers about providing a statement in this matter, which only confirms my apprehensions/concerns.”
John said the manner in which the prosecution was conducted in relation to one of the alleged victims had caused him “a great deal of disquiet” and he had used his “inherent jurisdiction to prevent any abuse of process”.
But, he added, “In granting a general stay, however, it is clear I fell into error,” noting that the submissions made by Bennett-Jenkins related solely to the prosecution of the West Bay West MP over the alleged offences committed against one of the women, but not the other.
“The error is regretted,” the judge wrote in his judgment.
He added, “The court is satisfied that counts one and three ought not to have been stayed and should be tried if the prosecution chooses to proceed. I therefore rescind the orders in respect to those counts.”
Bush claims persecution
Bush had vehemently denied the charges against him, both in the indecent assault case in February and the historical rape case against this that ended this week.
He has claimed that he is being persecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, which he believes has “inappropriate” connections with the Governor’s Office, some civil servants, and the commissioner of police.
After Bush was acquitted of rape on Monday, he announced that he plans to bring a motion to Parliament calling for a commission of inquiry into his allegations against the DPP’s office.
He is also holding a public meeting outside the A. L. Thompson’s store in George Town on Thursday night at 8pm. Speaking to reporters outside court on Monday, Bush insisted that meeting would not be political, but was being held to discuss what he considers to be abuses by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution against not just him, but other members of the community.
The Compass has reached out to Director of Public Prosecutions Simon Davis to ask if his office intends to push ahead with the charges of indecent assault and common assault in relation to the other woman in the September 2022 case, as well as his reaction to Bush’s allegations, and is awaiting a response.
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