- PHOTO: Opening day of the 4th National Judicial Conference
By Garmah Never Lomo, garmahlomo@gamail.com
After commercial Court Judge Eva Mappy Morgan has been indicted by the Judicial Inquiry Commission for wrongfully taking unilateral decisions in a case involving Monrovia Trading Company (MOTC) and the Ducor Petroleum Company, she was lifted high by the Supreme Court of Liberia to serve as Vice Chairperson of the ongoing 4th National Judicial Conference committee.
The JIC held her liable for ethical breaches.
The JIC’s recommendation against the head judge of the Commercial Court comes after eight months of investigation into a complaint filed against her by businessman and manager of Liberian owned Ducor Petroleum Company alleging that over US$3 million was withdrawn from his company’s account and given to the Monrovia Oil Trading Company (MOTC) on order of Judge Morgan while the case was pending before the court.
Associate Justice Sie-A- Byrne G. Yuoh is the chairperson for the conference committee of this five-day forum which began on Monday, June 7, 2021 at the Ministerial Complex in Monrovia’s Congo Town suburb.
Judge Morgan directing participants at the conference
Other committee members of the conference are Cllr. T. Negbalee Warner, Cllr. Cyril Jones, Cllr. Elizabeth Nelson Court Administrator, Atty. Magistrate L. Ben Barco and Mr. Francis A. Dennis.
Ex-officio members are Chief Justice Francis S. Korkpor, Association Justice Jamesetta H. Wolokolie, Associate Justice Joseph N. Nagbe and Yussif D. Kaba.
Despite SupremeCourt is pending to decide her fate after the conference leaving her integrity problem behind, they still have confidence in her to serve as Vice chairperson on the conference committee.
Some see the Supreme Court move as promoting Judge Morgan’s alleged integrity problem that hanging over her by allowing her to serve as Vice chairperson on the conference committee.
Judge Morgan was on yesterday seeing with no regrets in her joyfully directing and escorts participants of the conference to their respective seats as if she has no dark cloud over her.
The Judiciary Inquiry Commission’s recommendation/decision is subject to approval by the Supreme Court.
If this recommendation is endorsed by the Supreme Court, it means that Judge Morgan would be replaced by an ad-hoc judge while.
The Act that created the Commercial Court in 2013 requires three judges to adjudicate cases and render a decision.
Judge Morgan who is the current president of the National Trial Judges of Liberia and a Professor at the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law at the University of Liberia is the second appointed judge of the Commercial Court to be penalized in less than two years for ethical violation through the recommendation of the Judiciary Inquiry Commission (JIC).
Judge Mappy Morgan (middle)
Judge Richard Klah was the first Judge to be removed from the commercial Court in 2019 for corruption and he was turned over by the Supreme Court to the house of Legislature for possible impeachment at after the JIC had investigated and found him guilty of receiving bribes from parties that have appeared before him in 2019.
For fear of the consequences of impeachment, Klah resigned his post and traveled to the United States.
The JIC stated that in June 2013, the Monrovia Oil Trading Company (MOTC) filed a petition to the Commercial Court for accounting against Amos Brosius claiming that MOTC was a majority shareholder in the Ducor Petroleum Company, a company managed by Amos Brosuis.
In reaction to the claim, the JIC added that the complaint Brosius filed a return to the petition for accounting and filed a motion to vacate the injunction but the Judge Morgan decided to single handedly preside over the case by entertaining several pre-trial conferences without the input of the two other judges which resulted into an agreement of the parties to freeze the accounts of Ducor Petroleum at the LBDI and that of the Ecobank.