By Musa Paul Feika
Legally the Bar refers to a place where Law students, who have successfully gone through the Sierra Leone Law School and obtained their licenses, are permitted to sit, represent their respective clients, to talk and advocate for and on behalf of their clients.
A vociferous lawyer, Michaela Patricia George, on Monday 19th April, 2021, at the Ross Road Magistrate Court No. 1, which is presided over by Magistrate Wilbri Hamida Moira John, said in open court that she was remorseful and in regret because she was not in court when a veteran journalist, who doubles as the proprietor of both Standard Times and Star Television, Philip Neville, was testifying in court.
Mr. Neville was testifying in respect of a matter involving Modupelh Williams and three others, who allegedly removed his two solar panels, which were installed by the applicant at Kossoh Town, in Freetown in order to supply light to the community.
According Mr. Mr. Philip Neville, one of the defendants, Modupelh Williams, removed two of the panels. As a result, he and three others were dragged to court. Lawyer M.P. George was part of the defence team.
At the end of the day, bail was granted to all the defendants and a publication was made in the Standard Times Newspaper surrounding the circumstance in which bail was granted to the defendants.
Lawyer George, who is part of the defence team, said, in open court, that she should have been in court when Mr. Neville was testifying. “This is because I would have mouth washed or molested him. Mind you, Mr. Neville made a publication against the sitting magistrate,” she said.
This is not the first time Lawyers have been mouth washing people, more especially during cross examination of many witnesses.
At one point, Madam George almost deprived a married man; because, on the day of his wedding, he appeared before Magistrate Hadiru Daboh at the Ross Road Magistrate No. 3.
Madam George, who was representing the applicant, made a complaint against the defendant and, instantly, Magistrate Daboh ordered the prison officers to take the defendant to the lockup.
It was so disheartening that the defendant was seriously in tears because he was receiving persistent phone calls from his friends regarding his wedding. Though, the defendant was later released, he was detained for an hour.
The said lawyer was seriously laughing at him and she ended up pleading for his release. Another case in point is while Lawyer Madieu Sesay was cross examining Hon Baimba Musa Foray Jalloh, from Constituency No. 56 in Tonkolili, in respect of a robbery matter involving eight accused, “he was disrespectful to our parliamentarian, to the extent that he was even shouting at him in an open court like any commoner.”
Though Mr. Sesay was defending the eighth accused, whose liberties were at stake, but that does not create any room for him to shout at the Hon Member of Parliament. Being vociferous does not always make lawyers win cases or make a good lawyer.
The sitting Magistrate is always in favour some of these noisy lawyers who sometimes make as if they are demi-gods.’ That brings the question, whether lawyers are now using the Bar as an ambush or trap for litigants?