The Director of Audit has handed over to the government a report on the state of affairs at the High Court Office.
The audit was conducted after the sudden resignation on May 21 of Registrar of the High Court, Tamara Gibson-Marks.
The report could determine whether criminal charges will be brought against anyone, including Gibson-Marks, who is expected to appear in court in September to show cause why she should not be disbarred from practicing law in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
During a 30-minute meeting on May 21, Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan asked Gibson-Marks to resign, and Gibson-Marks left that same day for St. Lucia, where she was born.
Jones-Morgan has applied for Gibson-Marks to be disbarred, but I-Witness News has not been able to independently verify the reasons given, since the court documents have been sealed.
Reports say that some EC$300,000 from an account that Gibson-Marks held in trust is unaccounted for, but some EC$130,000 was deposited into the account after Gibson-Marks’ resignation.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Legal Affairs, has said that the Offices of the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and Director of Public Prosecutions are involved in an investigation into the circumstances leading up to Gibson-Marks’ resignation.
Commissioner of Police Michael Charles has said that he cannot act, until the audit is complete.
The government has urged patience as the investigation continues, even as the Leader of the Opposition Arnhim Eustace and other citizens have asked questions about the government’s handling of the development.
Some persons have suggested that there are two-types of laws in the country, in light of the fact that Gibson-Marks was allowed to leave after the Attorney General demanded her resignation.
Police and immigration officials were informed of the development on May 22, after Gibson-Marks left for St. Lucia.
There have also been questions about the decision to ask that Gibson-Marks be barred from practicing law in St. Vincent, rather than the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
Some persons have noted that Gibson-Marks, who is married to former senator for the Unity Labour Party, prominent lawyer Ronald “Ronnie” Marks, was born in St. Lucia, and should she decide to return to her country for good, the effect of being barred from practicing law in St. Vincent and the Grenadines could be minimal.
To move to disbar her from practicing in St. Vincent is like no punishment to her. I am surprised that more folks are not outraged about this move. A person who has committed these acts (if indeed they were committed by her) is not likely to return to St.Vincent to practice law either way so that is in essence no punishment for her. So this motion to disbar in St.Vincent alone is a joke. It would be more appropriate penalty to disbar from the OECS bar if there is such a thing. Looking into the prospect of criminal prosecution even as the investigation was going on would have been more palatable.
Kenton, it is not by chance the ciurt is called the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. If the former registrar is disbarred in svg she could not practice in any oecs jurisdiction. And she may have problems practicing anywhere since shehas to disclose,;disclosure will affect her ability to practice,.
Thank you Jomo. How could they have not researched this before? She cannot practice within the OECS once she is disbarred.
According to Thierry Nano, there are people currently in the ULP government who have done as bad or perhaps even many times worse than her.
William Wise has said if he is going to prison there are others who will be going with him, who is he referring to?
Is this the same Gibson Marks whose husband had moved off with a lady’s dog a couple of years ago?
I’m no lawyer. I have no legal training. That being said, I question Jomo’s logic and legal basis for his comments above. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) does not admit anyone to the of practice law. The bar associations of the individual member states do. By virtue of being called to the bar in a member country you are allowed to practice law before the ECSC.
By Jomo’s logic all lawyers in the OECS once called to the bar in one member state are automatically allowed to practice in any OECS country and appear before their courts without any restrictions or further requirements. I don’t think that is the case. I wish Jomo would site law or some precedent in order to support is position.
By extending Jomo’s argument one step further, disbarment by St. Vincent should mean that the registrar would be barred from any country that uses the Privy Council as their final court of appeal. I know that the legal systems are very different, but in the USA, an attorney can be barred from practice in one state but allowed to practice in a next. Of course any action that would cause disbarment in one state would definitely give the bar association in another state to at the very least reason to examine that lawyer’s membership. But there is no automatic total disbarment from practice in all states.
Again, I have no legal training. But it appears to me that the move to disbar the registrar before any conviction or finding of fact by a court could be prejudicial to the registrar if case is brought against her. One could argue that AG tainted the jury pool hence making it impossible for the registrar to receive an unlikely trial.
To Jomo: As a member of the constituency you are seeking to represent and whose vote is undecided, I would like know where you stand on a related issue. One that I think is more meaningful than the matter of the registrar. The Prime Minister is on record as stating that local lawyers avoid paying their income taxes. They under report their incomes which should constitute fraud or tax evasion at the least. Would you be willing to help level the playing field in this country by taking up this issue should you become elected?
After she came to St.Lucia she was still offered a job […] knowing that she had ‘stolen’ the money. I really hope that she pays for this. Her mother owns a popular radio station in SLU and her father is very close to the current party in power. We need to stop trying to cover up and let the people in position pay for their mistakes. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
I just came here to read the comments and learn. Hmm very interesting