FORMER chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar will not be reappointed a high court judge.
Her judicial review claim against the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) and the Attorney General was dismissed by Justice David Harris in a 146-page judgment on Friday.
The judge said that Ayers-Caesar failed to prove a balance of probabilities that she was coerced, tricked and forced by Chief Justice Ivor Archie into resigning as a high court judge two weeks after her appointment on April 12, 2017.
Justice Harris said the evidence of the trial showed that Ayers-Caesar herself decided to resign with the intension of returning to the Magistracy to complete the 52 part-heard preliminary inquiries that were left when she was appointed a judge.
But the judge said that Ayers-Caesar’s action was by no means frivolous.
He said, “The JLSC’s handling of the entire process leading up to the resignation of the Claimant was not by any means above all reproach. It was clumsy in some respects, albeit in the end retaining the constitutional protections to which the holder of Judicial Office is entitled.
“A certain clarity has been brought to the area of law and to the functions and extent of the powers of the various entities referred to above (particularly the Office of the President), that found themselves as parties to this action. This case has advanced the jurisprudence in Trinidad and Tobago in important respects.”
Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, Ronnie Bissessar instructed by Vijaya Maharaj appeared for Ayers-Caesar.
Russell Martineau, SC, Deborah Peake, SC, and Ian Benjamin, SC, Ian Roach instructed by Marcelle Ferdinand represented the JLSC.
Reginald Armour, SC, Ravi Nanga and Ravi Heffes-Doon instructed by Savitri Maharaj and Ms. Tenille Ramkissoon appeared for the Attorney General.
