–File Application in the Liberian Senate
By Peter Toby
Fresh report says the legal team representing Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, Kabineh Ja’neh on Wednesday filed an Application before the Senate seeking the recusal of Chief Justice Francis Korkpor in the impeachment trial of the Justice due to start tomorrow, Thursday.
No reaction yet has come from the Liberian Chief Justice on the quest by Justice Ja’neh’s lawyers for him to recuse himself from the pending impeachment trial at the Senate.
Last November three Supreme Court Justices, including Chief Justice Francis Korkpor, refused to support move by one of the Associate Justices,
Sie-A-Nyene Yuoh to have a stay order on members of the House of Representatives’ bill of impeachment.
BACKGROUND OF CHIEF JUSTICE KORKPOR
In 1972, His Honor Francis S. Korkpor, Sr, enrolled at the University of Liberia in pursuit of higher education where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Degree in Sociology in 1976. Upon graduation from university, Chief Justice Korkpor was employed with the Ministry of Justice in the Criminal Rehabilitation Division as a Research Coordinator from where he was granted a scholarship by the US Government to study Criminal Justice at the N. C. Justice Academy at Salemburg, North Carolina, USA, after a year on the job.
Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. returned home in 1978 and subsequently enrolled at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law, University of Liberia where he obtained his LLB Degree in 1982.
PUBLIC & PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Mr. Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. began his public and professional services at the Ministry of Justice, Republic of Liberia, where he was first recruited as a Research Coordinator immediately upon obtaining his BA degree from the University of Liberia. His service at the Ministry of Justice, also witness his rise to leadership positions within the government of Liberia specifically serving as Assistant Minister for Economic Affairs, Assistant Minister for Legal Affairs, and then Deputy Minister for Legal Affairs.
Due to the civil war in Liberia, like many other Liberians, Chief Justice Korkpor left the country in 1990. He however returned in 1991 and went into private law practice. He established the Tiala Law Associates, Inc., and for about 13 consecutive years, served as its Managing Director. Notable amongst the clients he worked for was the Catholic Church in Liberia and its affiliate institutions. He was also a member of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, a human rights organization and for many years, served as its Chairman of the Board of Directors.
In 2004, during the reign of the National Transitional Government of Liberia, then Counsellor Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. was appointed to the Supreme Court of Liberia as Associate Justice for the period of two years, a position to which he was nominated and subsequently reappointed by Her Excellency, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf upon assuming the Presidency of the Country in 2006.
On April 18, 2013, His Honor Francis S. Korkpor, Sr. was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, a position he currently occupies. CULLED FROM THE JUDICIARY WEBSITE