The Nassau Guardian
Lawyer found in contempt says he won’t pay fine
Attorney Geoffrey Farquharson has said he will not pay the $2,000 fine levied on him by Justice Bernard Turner earlier this month for contempt of court.
The fine is due on June 26, according to Farquharson.
If he does not have a change of heart, he will begin serving a 14-day sentence next week.
Speaking to The Nassau Guardian yesterday, he said, “I did nothing wrong. I committed no contempt. I always tell young people not to knuckle under pressure.
“The only reason I would pay the fine is to avoid the embarrassment of going to prison and as unpalatable as that may be, I’m not going to knuckle and pay the fine.”
Last week, the Court of Appeal refused to stay Turner’s order pending an appeal of his decision.
The court suggested that Farquharson pay the fine, which would be refunded if the appeal succeeded.
But Farquharson said, after prayerful consideration, he has decided not to pay the fine.
Farquharson was found guilty of contempt of court on May 22 for his conduct during the trial, which ended on October 29, 2013, when Kofhe Goodman was sentenced to death for the September 2011 murder of primary school student Marco Archer.
Justice Turner cited Farquharson for contempt in relation to remarks that he made on May 15, 2013 and July 18, 2013 that impugned the integrity of the court.
In sentencing on June 4, Turner said that he was compelled to punish Farquharson to spare another judge from the same behavior.
He said that Farquharson was unrepentant in his behavior by maintaining that he acted properly.
On May 15, Farquharson said, “We are concerned that the apparent bias of the court may be tantamount to participation of the court wittingly or unwittingly to this perversion of justice.
“We say that what the prosecution has done is to fix this man up with a case, and that the court, by its actions, may well be viewed by a disinterested observer to be enabling that effort by the prosecution.
“If that is the case, my lord, that would mean that there was a suggestion that the court itself may be guilty of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.”
In July, Farquharson accused the court of “blatantly and flagrantly disregarding the law and making up the law on which it purports to act”.
No comments:
Post a Comment