Africa-Press – Liberia. The Supreme Court has ordered Criminal Court ‘C’ to initiate a comprehensive public investigation into allegations that Solicitor General Cllr. Nyenati Tuan tampered with the panel of jurors assembled to hear Charloe Musu’s murder case.
Associate Justice Jamesetta Wolokollie, the Justice-in-Chamber of the Supreme Court, granted a request from defense lawyers representing former Chief Justice Gloria Musu Scott and several other family members for a full-scale investigation into the allegations of Tuan’s interference with the sequestered jurors.
Wolokollie also mandated that the investigation be conducted publicly and include the participation of all parties involved in the case.
The investigation is, however, scheduled for today at 2 p.m. The allegation of jury tampering came a few days ago after the Judiciary Security Service, in a report, accused the Solicitor General of forcibly entering the Temple of Justice premises at non-working hours to interact with the jury panel sequestered at the Court.
Upon learning of the revelation, Criminal Court ‘C’ Judge Roosevelt Willie convened a conference with the defense and prosecution teams, which ended with the suspension of Tuan from the case as well as the imposition of a US$250 fine.
The Solicitor General, according to Willie, admitted to visiting the Temple of Justice beyond working hours and interacting with officers assigned at the jury quarter.
Tuan, in his admission, noted that while he had interaction with the security, he never met anyone on the jury, the judge said.
However, the defense lawyers took exception to the judge’s decision and filed a request for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court, requesting for a full-scale probe and, if the allegation is proven, the jury panel should be dissolved due to “perceived conflicts.”
Scott’s lawyers argued that Willie’s initial judgment needs to be set aside and a thorough investigation conducted to verify the allegation, which has the propensity to undermine the trial. The request was granted by the Chamber Justice.
Ahead of Wolokollie’s decision, Cllr. Jonathan T. Massaquoi, one of Scott’s lead lawyers, asserted that if the results of the new investigation establish jury tampering, the trial must be terminated, and the defendants released.
Massaquoi argued that Willie erred in not investigating the jury tampering complaint, and that “the trial court was legally obligated to investigate the allegation, and the judge’s refusal to conduct the requested investigation was a reversible error.”
According to Massaquoi, on September 13, Tuan drove to the Temple of Justice at approximately 9:30 p.m. and ordered the judicial security officer, Marcus Cleon, to open the gate. When questioned by the security officer, he forcefully entered the compound and proceeded to the petty jurors sequestered in the basement.
Massaquoi claimed that Tuan also encountered the petty jurors/trial jurors and is believed to have had discussions and even provided financial incentives to the jurors in the hope of swaying the verdict in favor of the Government, which is prosecuting Scott and several of her family members.
“It is worth noting that all of these unwarranted, illegal, and arbitrary actions by the Solicitor-General Tuan,” Massaquoi noted, “was carried out in the presence of judicial security officers assigned to the basement where the jurors have been sequestered.”
He stated that when the matter was brought to the attention of the Chief of Judiciary Security, it was forwarded to General Nathaniel Dickinson, the Marshall of the Supreme Court.
“General Dickinson ordered an immediate preliminary investigation into the interaction between the judicial security officer Marcus Cleon and Solicitor-General Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, which established that Tuan was present at the gate adjoining the Liberia National Police Headquarters and forcibly entered the Temple of Justice yard, proceeding to the basement where the petty jurors are being sequestered,” he claimed.
Massaquoi explained that the preliminary report into Tuan’s direct and forceful entry into the Temple of Justice yard during unusual hours also established that he intended to gain access to the trial jurors without court approval or the participation of the defense lawyers.
He added that during a conference, the judge questioned the Solicitor-General about the allegation of visiting the premises of the Temple of Justice building, specifically where the jury is sequestered.
“Solicitor-General, Cllr. Nyenati Tuan, admitted to gaining access to the premises where the jurors are sequestered and quickly noted that he did not want a recurrence of what happened in the US$100 million drug case and that he visited the trial jury premises at about 5:30 p.m., especially when the trial had been adjourned,” argued Massaquoi.
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