The DPP’s intervention in criminal matters

When does the Director of Public Prosecutions intervene to halt a trial? This is a question that people have been asking for years and the answer is not straightforward. The truth is that the DPP can halt any trial, remove any prosecutor and even hire special prosecutors.
People would say that if the DPP is politically biased then he or she could do anything to determine the outcome of a trial. And this could be the case.
I remember when Mark Benschop was first charged with treason and appeared before Chief Magistrate Juliet Holder-Allen. The Chief Magistrate was prepared to hear the preliminary arguments when the then DPP, the late Doodnauth Singh marched into the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court and ordered the Chief Magistrate off the case.
Juliet Holder-Allen attempted to challenge the order but there was nothing she could do. The People’s Progressive Party government had brought the charge, the DPP was a supporter of the PPP although he was supposed to be neutral in his decisions and the decision was that Benschop should be tried and convicted for treason.
For those who do not know; back then Benschop was an ardent critic of the PPP government. He led marches against the government and on television, he was one of the staunchest critics of the government and government officers.
In July 3, 2002, Benschop and Philip Bynoe were accused of leading a group of demonstrators from East Coast Demerara to Office of the President. At the time the Caricom Heads were in Guyana for the summit.
Benschop used a loud hailer to motivate the protesters, some of whom burst into the presidential compound. Two were shot dead and some others injured. This incident led to Benschop and Bynoe being charged with treason. Bynoe was never held but Benschop was to spend five years in jail although he was never sentenced.
Those were interesting times. I remember Justice Winston Moore being approached to conduct the treason trial, the first having ended in a hung jury. The dissenting juror was planted by the PPP and despite the evidence he refused to vote to acquit. It was reported that he left Guyana the same night for neighbouring Trinidad.
The DPP has on numerous occasions taken the decision to free murder suspects who spent an inordinately long time on remand awaiting trial. Because of the delay in getting to trial, the DPP would nolle prosequi the charge. This is not uncommon.
On Monday, there was the news that the DPP had nolle prosequi the larceny charge against now Attorney General Anil Nandlall. I was surprised. This was a trial that had gone a long way. The magistrate had overruled no-case submissions by Nandlall’s lawyers.
The Court of Appeal declined to intervene while the trial was still in progress so Nandlall approached the Caribbean Court of Justice even as the magistrate ordered him to lead a defence. The elections stalled the continuation of the trial.
The constitution prevented the continuation of the trial of Irfaan Ali on his accession to the presidency. According to the constitution, the president is the only person who could not be taken to court while he holds the office.
Nandlall does not enjoy that privilege. However, according to a media report the prosecutor claimed that he was taking onto consideration that Nandlall had acceded to the office of Attorney General and he wondered whether prosecution would be in order.
Apparently, when one accedes to a high government office one is exempt from prosecution but only if one holds a special place in the political hierarchy. Winston Jordan was Minister of Finance when some people moved to the courts to have him jailed for contempt. The DPP did not intervene. It took an initial pardon from then-President David Granger.
But even then there were those who moved to question the right of the President to grant a pardon—the first time such a question ever arose.
Meanwhile other people are being charged for electoral offences. One legal opinion is that only an elections court can determine electoral irregularities. But this does not seem to be the case since the charges are being laid.
One could only wonder if the DPP has had a look at these charges and her course of action. She did nolle prosequi charges against Chairperson of the Guyana Elections Commission, Justice Claudette Singh.