...Justice Lyons found John Sands, aided by his attorney Leon Smith of Smith, Smith and Co, fraudulently obtained title to a 156-acre tract of land owned by Arawak Homes

Senior Justice 'missed opportunity to fully investigate attorneys accused of misconduct'
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net


SENIOR Justice John Lyons missed an opportunity to fully investigate attorneys accused of misconduct in the Pinewood debacle by failing to do the necessary follow through, it was claimed.

"It requires more on his behalf than just sending a copy of the ruling," said a senior member of the Bahamas Bar Association.

In a 2003 ruling, Justice Lyons hinted at possible wrong doing on the part of several attorneys and the interested parties, noting "blatant fraud" was at play in attempts to substantiate a certificate of title to land in Pinewood.

Justice Lyons ordered the court to forward its ruling to the Registrar, Bar Association, Attorney General and Director of Public Prosecutions for disciplinary action, contempt action and investigations into possible breaches of the Penal Code.

It is understood that the ethics committee of the Bar Association never received transcripts of the trial.

None of the institutions has acted on the findings of the Supreme Court, according to executives at Arawak Homes.

In his judgment Justice Lyons found John Sands, aided by his attorney Leon Smith of Smith, Smith and Co, fraudulently obtained title to a 156-acre tract of land owned by Arawak Homes.

Mr Smith was later disbarred for an unrelated matter. Recent attempts by Mr Smith to be reinstated resulted in his arrest. A decision is pending with the Bar Council.

Misconduct

Justice Lyons also accused lawyer Derrence Rolle, now a magistrate, and James Thompson, now deceased, of serious misconduct and wasting court time as they represented John Sands and his attorney Mr Smith in the land dispute with Arawak Homes. The sons of Mr Thompson have made several attempts to clear their father's name in the face of unfair "smears."

Many commentators have called Justice Lyons' ruling a clear indictment of the various attorneys. However, some say Justice Lyons was notorious for "making noise" and "shooting from the hip."

"Justice Lyons shoots from the hips. In a lot of cases he castigates people, but when it comes time for him to sign his name on the dotted line for a formal complaint he never did," said a senior attorney.

There have been instances where Justice Lyons took the "proper and required" action, but not in the case of Mr Sands and his band of attorneys, she claimed. Justice Lyons is now retired and living in Australia.

Magistrate Derrence Rolle was appointed to the bench three years after he was criticised by Justice Lyons in his judgment on the Arawak Homes case. The appointment was made by Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall in 2006.

Questions raised about the promotion of Mr Rolle seem to fallen on deaf ears. Government agencies could give no explanation in view of the September 2003 Supreme Court judgment.

"Justice Lyons has to go a step further definitely. That is in law called 'a by the way'. You ought not even quote that as an attorney unless you are saying it has some substance. It is his opinion. If they wanted to deal with it from that aspect they could have, but they did not," said another attorney, familiar with the case.

She pointed to the fact that Magistrate Rolle "is always having his matters appealed when he makes certain rulings."

"He has the (reputation) for the most appeals being overturned. Certainly if they felt he ought not to be there he would have been removed by now," she said.

Just this week, Magistrate Rolle was criticised by the Court of Appeal for exceeding his sentencing powers, and issuing a "manifestly unlawful sentence" in the case of a man charged with burglary and stealing.

"Justice Lyons had his own idiosyncrasies. Some people liked them; some people didn't; some people respected them; some people didn't," said the attorney.

November 13, 2010

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