The President of the Bahamas Bar Association held a press conference on Wednesday to voice his concerns about a police investigation carried out after one of its members, Attorney Elsworth Johnson, made a written complaint about a sitting Magistrate.
Attorney Khalil Parker, K.C., told reporters, “I’ve been advised that the nature of the criminal complaint in this instance stemmed from the purported leaking of confidential correspondence to the Chief Justice from Mr. Johnson. No further action has been taken by the police as no substantive complaint was identified.”
Parker added, “even though in this instance, as Mr. Johnson indicated, he was not arrested, the very fact that a police officer picked up a phone to call him about something demonstrates that this cognized something and they acted upon it. It is very important that the police do their investigatory work and do not disturb private citizens in their ordinary lives before they come to a position that there is something worth investigating.”
The Bar Association President indicated that agreement has been reached with the Chief Justice for a community to be formed to draft formal judicial complaints procedures.
