Advertisement 87
Advertisement 323
Defence counsel Ronald "Ronnie" Marks, left, and prosecutor, S. Stephen Brette. (iWN photos)
Defence counsel Ronald “Ronnie” Marks, left, and prosecutor, S. Stephen Brette. (iWN photos)
Advertisement 219

A defence counsel in the Morgan/Nelson trial, on Thursday, accused the prosecutor, S. Stephen Brette, of talking “rubbish” and later apologised for saying that he was objecting without legal basis. 

The lawyer, Ronald “Ronnie” Marks, had addressed the court on a point.

Marks then asked the court to allow him to conduct his case and to stop interrupting “every five minutes for no legal reason at all”.

He further asked the court to ask “counsel with the watching brief not to shout instructions to the witnesses”.

The prosecutor rose and said he felt “insulted”.

Advertisement 271

“You should be,” Marks said.

“I am the one providing the court with the legal authority,” the prosecutor said. 

“Rubbish!” Marks shouted as Daniel softly said, “Ronald. Ronald.”

Brette said that Marks has been making “bare assertions without any legal authority”. 

The prosecutor said that when the lawyer said that he was interrupting without any legal reason, it was wrong and insulting for him to have said that.

The prosecutor said that he thought that Marks should apologise for what he said.

Marks agreed, saying, “I do… 

“In all years of practice I never had so many interruptions from a prosecutor,” Marks told the court.

“Come to St. Lucia,” Brett responded. 

“I practised in St. Lucia before you,” Marks responded.

Tell him you were married in St. Lucia, practised in St. Lucia,” Daniel said.

“You sure you want to go there?” Bacchus-Baptiste commented. 

“Come down,” the prosecutor said, referring to St. Lucia, which is about 25 miles from St. Vincent, at the closest point.

Marks said that if the practice in St. Lucia was to try to restrict a defendant from putting forward his case, it is not the case in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

He said that the prosecution could not “fetter” his cross examination on issues of character and propensity.

“They cannot do it and they need to stop it,” Marks said. 

Government senator, Ashelle Morgan and Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, Karim Nelson, are being tried in connection with an April 13 incident, at Diamond Estate, in which businessman Cornelius John, of Diamond, was shot in the leg.

Nelson is charged with wounding John and unlawfully discharging a firearm at him. 

Morgan is alleged to have assaulted John. 

John is to be tried on a charge that on the same date, also at Diamond Estate, he used threatening language to Morgan.

3 replies on “‘Rubbish!’ — defence lawyer tells prosecutor in Morgan/Nelson trial”

  1. ONLY In SVG really this rubbish couldn’t happen anywhere else ??? threatening language is that a case to answer to when most can be heard on the streets of out capital saying (haul your Mudda C) o please lets get real shooting is real ??? people in power threatening a man is real???? lord me poor little tax money, are well at least people around the world will have some sense and see another stupidness going on in SVG…….

  2. likkle bwoy blu says:

    Kenton Chance, could you please explain the roles of the different lawyers and judges in this case and what they are supposed to be doing. What is the prosecutor and what is he doing? What is a defense lawyer and what role do they have this. What is the magistrate and what he/she is supposed to be doing? You can make it short.

Comments closed.