Attorneys will return for ruling and for Francis Fonseca hearing

Lisa Shoman

Mark King did not appear in court but his adversary, Martin Galvez and his sister Yolanda Schakron sat through the entire proceedings. They would not speak on the matter but their attorney Lisa Shoman did. Shoman was hopeful that the ruling would allow them to seek the election petition for Lake Independence.

Lisa Shoman

“We’ve submitted all the documentary and the affidavit evidence that is needed to bear out the case. The examination of what weight to put on the evidence—whether it is admissible or not—we made the point that all of that is something that is done at trial. Similarly in the way that Madam Justice Arana granted leave in the case of Herman Longsworth, this is a similar type case and it has the same types of affidavits and documentary evidence as was enclosed in that one. So it really will be up to the judge to decide whether this is an interlocutory proceeding, whether this is a stage at which he would then look at the affidavit evidence. They have filed absolutely no evidence to contradict the evidence that we have filed or to say that it is not true. You don’t want to disclose; we have disclosed at this stage, we have brought enough to the court’s attention for them to be able to say there is an arguable case—that is the threshold we have to cross. It si not an invisible threshold, it is a threshold that is real and you must cross it and we believe that we have brought enough evidence before the court. Of course it will be up to his Lordship to decide whether that is enough or whether it is not enough and what is the admissibility and what at this stage is required for council to do.”

Rowland Parks, Reporter

“My understanding correctly is that if this application fails; that is the end of the matter that you cannot appeal the decision?”

Lisa Shoman

“If this application fails; if the judge does not grant leave—and that is the proper terminology—then it would mean that we would be very limited into our options of appeal and it would really depend on whether our Lordship either was completely wrong in the law or some other argument, but it would be very limited jurisdiction. Not to say that it couldn’t be done. The big issued there would be whether you then can present your election petition because you only have twenty-one days from the sixteenth which if we count it correctly, it will be Tuesday after Easter Monday. It is not likely at all that even if we were to appeal, this appeal would be heard in time. So I think you can pretty much say that this would be the end of the road one way or the other. But the fact remains that there is a contract; that contract is with the Government of Belize and Mister King never disclosed this to any of the voters in the Lake Independence Division.”

Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin was also slated to hear the United Democratic Party’s attorney on an election petition that they intend to file against Leader of the Opposition Francis Fonseca. Fonseca won the Freetown Division over Lee Mark Chang, but Chang reportedly believes Fonseca won through bribery. That case was adjourned until Wednesday morning in the Supreme Court.