Victoria G. Wesseh<\/b><\/p>\n
Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Thirty-four lawyers have filed a motion before Criminal Court \u2018A\u2019 questioning the indictment brought by the government against former Chief Justice of Liberia, Gloria Musu Scott, and her family. The indictment charges them with murder, criminal conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n Prominent lawyers who have filed the motion include former Supreme Court Associate Justice Kabineh M. Ja\u2019neh, Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner, Cllr. Cooper Kruah, Cllr. Augustine Fayiah, Cllr. Boakai Kanneh, Cllr. Augustine Toe, Cllr. Amara M. Sheriff, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, and others.<\/p>\n In the motion filed late on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, the lawyers argue that the government\u2019s failure to clearly indicate who specifically committed the murder is sufficient to trigger the provisions of Chapter 13.1 of the Criminal Code. They contend that this should result in the release of the defendants on bail, as provided by the Criminal Procedure Law, Chapter 1, Subsection 13.1, titled \u2018Right to Bail.\u2019<\/p>\n According to the referenced law, all crimes are bailable, particularly when the evidence is not evident, and the presumption is not strong. The lawyers argue that the indictment, in this case, does not present evident proof or a strong presumption. For instance, although the indictment collectively charges the defendants with murder, it fails to clearly specify which individual among the four defendants committed the crime, only mentioning the use of a knife as the alleged instrument.<\/p>\n The defendants also invoked the Civil Procedure Law, Title 1, LCLR, specifically Provisional Remedies in Chapter 7, Subchapter C, Arrest \u00a7 7.45, Release because of privilege or lack of grounds, and \u00a7 7.46, Bail; release from custody. They assert that the state\u2019s failure to identify the specific perpetrator of the murder should qualify the defendants for release under Chapter 13.1 of the Criminal Code.<\/p>\n The defendants\u2019 motion argues that Gloria Musu Scott, the former Chief Justice of the Republic of Liberia, former Attorney General of the Republic of Liberia, and former Senator of Maryland County, meets the criteria outlined in the Criminal Code and should be granted personal recognizance bail. They contend that she, along with the other co-defendants, poses no flight risk, and they commit to attending court proceedings from the beginning to the conclusion of the trial.<\/p>\n The defendants further argue that the primary purposes of bail in a criminal case are to prevent the accused from being imprisoned, relieve the state of the burden of detaining the accused pending trial, and ensure the accused\u2019s presence in court when required. They cite the case of \u201cZuo v Morris et al [1994] LRSC 32; 37 LLR 604\u201d to support their position, emphasizing their cooperation with the police investigation, including multiple appearances at the LNP National Headquarters.<\/p>\n According to Black Law Dictionary (9th Edition), \u201cpersonal recognizance\u201d allows the release of a defendant in a criminal case based on the defendant\u2019s promise to appear for scheduled proceedings. The defendants argue that Article 21(d)(i) of the 1986 Constitution of Liberia supports this principle by stating that all accused persons shall be bailable upon their personal recognizance. They contend that the provision does not exclude the court\u2019s inherent authority to grant bail to individuals charged with grave offenses.<\/p>\n The defendants urge the court to consider the fundamental principle of the \u201cPresumption of Innocence\u201d upon which Liberia\u2019s criminal justice system is built, as outlined in Article 21(h) of the Liberian Constitution. They request the court to grant their motion for bail based on the attending facts, circumstances, and legal reasoning, emphasizing the absence of evident proof and a strong presumption.<\/p>\n The defendants pray for a judgment declaring that, given the facts, circumstances, and intent of the statute, as well as the lack of evident proof and a strong presumption, their motion for bail is appropriate. They respectfully request that the court grant their motion, order their release based on the aforementioned laws, and provide any other fair, just, and legal relief.<\/p>\n For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Victoria G. Wesseh Africa-Press – Liberia. Thirty-four lawyers have filed a motion before Criminal Court \u2018A\u2019 questioning the indictment brought by the government against former Chief Justice of Liberia, Gloria Musu Scott, and her family. The indictment charges them with murder, criminal conspiracy and making false statements to law enforcement officers. Prominent lawyers who have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":39247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-39248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-liberia","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\n