The Court of Appeal on Monday ruled that Sandra Hill, Cayman Marl Road administrator, had grounds for appeal against a conviction for defamation.
Sir John Goldring, the president of the appeals court, told Hill, who represented herself, that her argument that the judge in the case erred in law raised important points and said that she should be represented by experienced counsel.
Goldring told Hill: “Your submission is that the judge got the law wrong … it does seem to us that you have seriously arguable points.”
“There are points not only important for you in your case, but also for the Cayman Islands because they deal with the right of freedom of speech,” he said, adding, “It does seem to us that you need, the court needs, help from lawyers who specialise in this sort of area.”
Goldring explained, “The fundamental issue is whether the judge got it wrong and there are a number of fairly arguable points that he did.”
Hill had asked for leave to appeal against her 2020 conviction for harassment of businessman Matthew Leslie.
She was fined $3,000 and ordered not to post any further stories involving Leslie to her sites.
The allegations, which included details of Leslie’s personal and professional life, were made in a podcast and in a series of posts uploaded to Cayman Marl Road and its social media platforms.
Goldring told Hill: “It is fundamentally important that you have legal aid and that you have the benefit of leading counsel because you really need to get this right.”
He added that the Legal Aid Department considers the importance of cases when deciding whether to grant assistance.
Legal Aid director Stacy Parke confirmed there was a means testing element in decisions on support for cases.
Simon Davis, the head of the DPP, told the court: “I don’t stand in the way of this going forward.”
As for the ruling, Hill thanked the court, saying, “I think the position the court has taken is probably the best.”
The hearing was adjourned until 10am on Thursday.
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