Lewis, Williams agree – Magistrate didn’t dismiss charges against Frederick

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Bar Association Dr Linton Lewis and Director of Public Prosecutions Colin Williams are in agreement that the six charges initially brought against Vynnette Frederick were not dismissed by magistrate Ricky Burnette.{{more}}

On the Unrendered television programme, aired last weekend on IKTV, Williams and Lewis both agreed that Frederick, an attorney who was re-arrested on July 11, shortly after it was decided that the six charges she had faced could not go forward, will now have to answer nine charges relating to making false declarations, swearing falsely and misleading the court by fabricating evidence.

The legal minds informed programme host Tony Regisford that on July 11, at the Kingstown magistrate’s Court, Magistrate Ricky Burnette agreed with Frederick’s defence attorneys that the charges lacked details and particulars.

“It was not thrown out or withdrawn, or anything of the nature of the description that I have heard,” Williams explained to Regisford.

“All that had happened was that the magistrate ruled upon a preliminary submission, because if indeed a matter is thrown out or withdrawn, it then raises certain issues as to whether you can bring it back; but if none of these things have taken place, then you can bring back a matter,” Williams said.

“When these charges came up before the magistrate, there were several amendments done at different sittings, and ultimately Vynnette Frederick did not plead to these charges, but her legal team raised what we call an “in limine submission…” in other words, she cannot plead to these charges because they lacked sufficient particulars….

“Those charges were making allegations of false swearing, but… they were saying there were not sufficient particulars as to the false statements that she may have sworn to, because the affidavits would have contained several recitals, so I guess they were saying ‘tell us what specifically you were referring to.’ So, this was not included in the initial charges and a submission was made to the magistrate and all the magistrate did was to uphold that particular submission.”

Lewis agreed with Williams.

“It was not dismissed,” he said.

He explained that magistrate Burnette accepted the defence’s claim that there were irregularities with respect to the charges and the particulars, and therefore, the matter could not proceed before the court.

Frederick will return to court on July 31, appearing before Burnette, this time at the Mesopotamia Magistrate’s Court.(JJ)