-Defense Lawyers withdraw request for witnesses to rebut former Associate Justice Banks’s testimony
By Peter Toby, tobypeter71@gmail.com
The impeachment trial of Supreme Court of Liberia Associate Justice, Kabineh Ja’neh is winding down, with final legal argument expected to take place in the Senate Chambers on Thursday, March 28, 2019.
Ahead of the final arguments, Expert Witness, former Associate Justice Philip A>Z. Banks on Wednesday made his final appearing restating that the ongoing impeachment proceeding started by the House of Representatives is unconstitutional.
He said Article 43 of the Liberian Constitution says that the procedure for the conduct of the impeachment trial must be drawn up by Legislature—both the House and the Senate- something he said was not done, thus denying the accused (Justice Ja’neh) due process of law.
In the second day of his testimony on his own behalf, the embattled Associate Justice Ja’neh has took the Witness stand and spoke of foul play in the way the trial got underway.
Justice Ja’neh said the House of Representatives violated the Constitution by not following the legal procedures required, disregarding the due process of law.
He also said the property he was accused of purchasing was bought in the mid- 1990s at the time he was not even working with the court, let alone being on the Bench as Associate Justice.
“Let me make it clear and simple for the jurors, when I acquired title to the property on Jallah Town road, it was in 1996 at which time I was a worker, an employee of the Free Port of Monrovia. This was 10 years before I assumed a judicial position. So I don’t know how I could have used the authority of a judge and abused that power by acquiring property at that time,” he clarified.
On Tuesday, Chief Justice Francis Korkpor, who is presiding over the impeachment trial, denied the prosecution’s Application to to remove the Testimonies of Justice Bank from the trial record.
During (today) Wednesday’s hearing, Chief Justice Francis Korpkor finally announced legal argument into the impeachment trial involving the House of Representatives and the embattled Associate Justice Ja’neh will take place tomorrow, Thursday.
This follows the production of oral and documentary evidence, after sixteen days of legal battle between the House Representatives and Justice Ja’neh’s legal team at the Liberian Senate.
Chief Justice Korpkor’s Wednesday pronouncement has now set the stage for both party lawyers to convince the twenty-nine Senators who are consider trial of the facts in making a decision against Justice Ja’neh’s this Thursday at the Liberian Senate.
The controversial impeachment trial witnessed the total of five witnesses, three from the Lower House and two from Justice Kabineh Ja’neh.
Prior to the Chief Justice’s notice for final argument, the Lower House Lawyers’ withdraw it earlier application for rebutter witnesses seeking to impeach on the credibility of former Associate Justice and law professor Counselor Philip Banks’ three days evidence at the Liberia.
The Lower House lawyers were trouble by the Retire Justice’s three days evidence at the Liberian Senate in proving a Primer-Fasic case against Justice Ja’neh that led to the application for buttress witnesses.