Recusal application denied as “spurious”
Trial set for May 2023
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Supreme Court Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson today called a request for a gag order “premature” as she refused to recuse herself from the Water and Sewerage corruption trial against Adrian Gibson and five other co-accused.
Grant-Thompson said it was unreasonable to suspect bias- real, apparent or perceived – based on the arguments leveled by Gibson’s lawyer Murrio Ducille.
Ducille raised the perception of bias due to the political affiliation of Grant Thompson’s late husband who died some 22 years ago.
Grant-Thompson pointed out that her husband died more than 20 years ago and that she had since remarried.
“To have any attorney say that a judge should not hear a matter for such a spurious reason appears to be a form of ‘forum shopping’,” she said.
In a later written submission, he also argued there was a perception of bias due to which the government appointed her to the judiciary.
Grant-Thompson called the allegation disgraceful, pointing to the constitutionally entrenched independence of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) that appoints judges.
She furthered Gibson would have been 18 years old at the time of her husband’s death, adding that Ducille provided no evidence or suggestion that there was ever any adverse contact or animus between Gibson and her husband.
Grant-Thompson asked whether Ducille would still bring the application under those grounds if she had divorced Bethell instead of his unfortunate death.
The group faces a combined 98 charges in connection with contracts awarded at the corporation when Gibson served as executive chairman.
Trial was set for May 1-31, 2023.
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