Lawyer Jomo Thomas has explained why the Godwin Friday New Democratic Party administration — or any government for that matter — cannot simply settle the case against educator and activist Adriana King, as was done when his firm sued the government over the death of 18-year-old motorcyclist Cjea Weekes.
The lawyer, however, said he thinks the director of public prosecutions (DPP) — which has the authority to do so — should drop the charge against King, in connection with her alleged intention to block then Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves from going to Parliament on Aug. 5, 2021.
Thomas noted that the charge is a criminal matter, unlike the civil lawsuit brought against the government in relation to Weekes’ death, which the government settled last month.
Weekes’ family sued the government after he died on Feb. 6, 2022, four days after he was injured when he crashed in Twenty Hill while riding his bike as police pursued him at high speed in an SUV from Questelles, just over a mile away.
Thomas announced last month that the Godwin Friday administration had settled the case one day before the trial was scheduled to begin.
He commended the government for doing so rather than putting Weekes’ family through the emotional distress of a trial.
The lawyer noted that Attorney General Louise Mithcell, acting on Friday’s advice, had settled the case, even as the Ralph Gonsalves government had refused to do so despite Weekes’ mother being employed at Gonsalves’ official residence at the time of her son’s death.
Thomas announced the settlement during his “Plain Talk” weekday commentary on Boom FM. An iWitness News report on the development generated much discussion on social media.
Returning to the topic some days later, the lawyer noted that among the questions that readers asked was why the government had not also settled the case against King.
Thomas noted that while the Gonsalves government did not settle the Cjea Weekes lawsuit, it had done so in other cases, including that of Jemark Jackson, who police had beaten into a coma on Nov. 18, 2008, at the Criminal Investigation Department in Kingstown, when he was 15 years old.
“So, I don’t want people to get the feeling that it’s just the Dr. Friday administration that settled cases,” said Thomas, whose chambers have won significant lawsuits against the Gonsalves government.
He, however, noted that King’s case is a criminal matter while the Cjea Weekes lawsuit was a civil case.
“Had the Director of Public Prosecution decided to charge … Scott, who was the driver of that vehicle that ran CJ Weekes to his death, that would have been a criminal case,” Thomas said.
“There was never a criminal case. And what we did, we filed a civil case, saying that the police callously killed, wrongfully killed, Cjea and in the alternative, that they acted negligently and their actions resulted in Cjea’s death.”
He explained that a criminal case could result in a criminal record and that the convicted person could go to prison, receive a suspended prison sentence, or face another penalty that the judicial officer might impose.
“… in a civil case, the defendant is found liable, the defendant then is asked to pay money or compensation, whatever.”
He explained that in a criminal case, the director of public prosecutions considers two key points: the first is an evidentiary test.
“Is there sufficiency of evidence? Is there probable cause? Is there sufficient reason to arrest that person and to charge them for that crime?” Thomas said.
The other assessment is the public interest test.
“Is there sufficient public interest in the matter? Now, if you were to take that test and apply it to the … Adriana King case, I don’t think there’s a public interest in that case, I don’t think there’s sufficient evidence to support the charge against Miss King,” Thomas said.
“However, Miss King’s case is not a civil case. The Attorney General cannot settle Miss King’s case because … initially there was some allegation that she tried to block the prime minister, which is a criminal matter, and criminal matters are dealt with by the Director of Public Prosecutions.”
Thomas noted that the charge against King had “lingered in the system for a while” and then Magistrate John Ballah “properly decided that it was an abuse of process, and that matter was thrown out” on May 28, 2024.
However, the then DPP, Sejilla Mc Dowarll, appealed the decision and the case is yet to be heard.
Thomas said:
“Dr. the Honourable Godwin Friday cannot properly call up the director of public prosecution and say to him, he must stop the case, because the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution is a constitutionally constituted branch of government. It’s a constitutional branch of government that has independence and must act transparently.”
The lawyer said he was “sure that in any functioning democracy, an attorney general or a minister of legal affairs, in this case, … Prime Minister Friday, can reach out if he’s so inclined and speak to the director of public prosecution, say, ‘Look, here’s where we are with this case.’
“But they cannot direct him, or they cannot direct the director of public prosecution to start a case or to stop a case. I think that we have to understand these things when we are having these conversations. Otherwise, we confuse and conflate issues, and we confuse a criminal case for a civil case.”
Thomas also responded to the question of why the Weekes case was settled and the officers involved were not prosecuted.
He noted that McDowall has concluded that there was not criminal liability in the matter and that a coroner’s inquest had ruled that Weekes died as a result of misadventure.
Thomas restated his objection to these findings and noted that he has asked the now acting DPP, Duane Daniel, to take another look at the case with a view to bringing criminal charges against the officers involved.
