UPDATE – Ruling in extradition will be "any day"
“The written judgment will be available as soon as it is timely possible,” he announced.
The two-day hearing ended yesterday afternoon, July 13, 2012 where legal counsels for Earl Hodge, Roberto Harrigan, Carlston Beazer, Chad Skelton and Juan Valdez challenged a prima facie ruling made by Senior Magistrate Valerie Stephens in March 2012.
The five men are facing extradition to the Southern District of Florida for conspiracy to import cocaine, while a similar request for Hodge was made by the North Carolina authorities.
It is alleged that they were involved in a 13-year trans-Atlantic drug trade where approximately 4,518 kilogrammes of cocaine were dropped in Virgin Islands’ (VI) waters.
The men headed to the High Court after Senior Magistrate on March 13, 2012, had ruled in favour of the Crown to have the accused men extradited and informed them of their rights to make a habeas corpus petition in the High Court.
The lawyers filed petitions between March 27 and 28, 2012, court records revealed.
A habeas corpus is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention, that is, detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence.
The Virgin Islands Government secured the services of Alun Jones, QC and was ably assisted by former Director of Public Prosecutions, Terrence Williams, Attorney General, Dr. Christopher Malcolm and Senior Crown Counsel in the DPP’s Office, Valston Graham.
Appearing as lead counsel for Skelton was Lord Kenneth Macdonald, QC along with lawyer Tana’ania Small-Davis; while Edward Fitzgerald, QC and Patrick Thompson appeared for Harrigan. Julian Knowles, QC remained Hodge’s lead counsel.
Beazer and Valdez’s lawyers remain the same – Richard Rowe and Stephen Daniels.
.png)
Follow Us On
85 Responses to “UPDATE – Ruling in extradition will be "any day"”