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Daniel Smith Inquest Mired in Corruption

posted by coconutH2O

Corrupt judges and crooked lawyers could draw out the Daniel Smith inquest for years with nobody benefiting except the Bahamas legal “profession.”

The stalled inquest into the death of Daniel Smith may need an act of parliament to move it forward again, which could make proceedings drag on for many months, even years, a concerned jurist claimed yesterday.

One of the country’s leading jurists, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Tribune that if the judiciary had moved more speedily following the death of Daniel Smith in September of last year, many legal ramifications now being raised could have been avoided.

Just days after it began, the inquest into the death of Anna Nicole Smith’s 20-year-old son Daniel came to a standstill last week when lawyers for Howard K Stern called the constitutionality of the Coroner’s Court into question.

Mr Stern’s legal counsel informed Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez - who is presiding over the inquest - that a constitutional motion had been filed with the Supreme Court which questions the lack of provisions in the Coroner’s Act to provide for an impartial jury.

However, the leading jurist said yesterday that there is no flaw in the Coroner’s Act, that the flaw is in fact with “those manning the legal system.”

“What should have happened was to hold the inquest very quickly, then you don’t have a contaminated jury pool. If anything gets out later you can’t blame the press because it’s their job to get the news out, that’s why you must deal with things quickly and speedily - so the weakness is not in the Act.

“When you have this kind of work to do, do it speedily and correctly then you wouldn’t have all these errors occurring, it would have been over long ago,” the jurist said.

During last week’s inquest proceedings Magistrate Gomez emphasised that the case of Daniel’s death has received immense world-wide media coverage and cautioned the allfemale jury not to heed any news reports, rumours, or gossip they may hear about the case.

However, Mr Stern’s lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to revise the provisions of the Coroner’s Act in such a way which would allow for lawyers to question potential jurors to determine their impartiality.

The concerned jurist speaking with The Tribune yesterday, “Supreme Court can only say ‘yes’, he (Chief Magistrate Gomez) has the right (to question jurors) or ‘no’, he does not have the right.”

“The Supreme Court can’t cure that, that can only be cured by an act of parliament, parliament has to amend it (the Coroner’s Act). Logistically, if parliament is going to amend a law it does not affect the whole running of the Coroner’s Court, but it does affect that particular case, that case can’t move until parliament has done that,” the jurist said.

The jurist said that there is no chance for such an amendment to happen in the near future as parliament is expected to be dissolved any day now in time for the general election.

“I think it will take a minimum of a year. Maybe a new government, whoever the government is, that can be a first on their agenda, if that is urgent, it may not be urgent,” the jurist said.

The Supreme Court is expected to make some sort of ruling on the application by Mr Stern’s lawyers by Wednesday.

By KARIN HERIG Tribune Staff Reporter

http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/story.php?title=Daniel-Smith-Inquest-Mired-in-Corruption