Bittersweet moment for Kern

Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter

THE IMMINENT departure of Patrick Atkinson from the private Bar has left Kern Spencer with a bittersweet feeling, even as his case remains before the court.

"I am happy for Patrick because this is a great achievement and the country will be better off with him as the chief legal adviser to the Government," Spencer told The Gleaner yesterday.

"At the same time, I feel hurt and bitter inside that five years of my more productive days have been taken away from me unfairly," he added.

"The case has been delayed over and over...," Spencer told The Gleaner yesterday.

The former North East St Elizabeth member of parliament has been before the court since February 2008 when he was arrested for money laundering arising out of his role in the implementation of an energy-saving Cuban light-bulb project.

Spencer has been charged with fraud and money laundering but has pleaded not guilty. Three of more than 20 witnesses have so far been called.

Atkinson has been Spencer's attorney since the matter began. However, with Atkinson set to leave the private Bar to become attorney general, Spencer said he was now at a disadvantage due to the manner in which the case has proceeded.

"These delays have left me without the man who understands the case inside out from its inception. I am not sure if there will be anyone else who will be able to address the issues in the ways he would have been able," Spencer said.

Atkinson said yesterday that his co-counsel, Deborah Martin, was au fait with the matter and was more than capable of handling it.

Spencer agreed, but said not having Atkinson was in itself a blow.

"I can't take anything from Deborah Martin, but we can't look past Atkinson's years of experience and his knowledge of the case...," he said.

The trial has been stalled since April last year after Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn went to the Judicial Review Court to set aside an order for her to testify as a witness in the matter.

Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey had granted an application by the defence for the DPP to be called as a witness in the light-bulb case. She also ordered that Llewellyn stay out of the courtroom while prosecution witness, Rodney Chin, gives evidence.

Chin is the main prosecution witness, and Spencer's defence has said Llewellyn should take the stand and testify about how he moved from being a co-accused to being a chief witness.

The DPP, who is seeking an order to quash Pusey's ruling for her to be absent from the courtroom while Chin is testifying, has consistently challenged Pusey's ruling on the grounds that the issuing of the subpoena for her to be called as a witness is an abuse of the process of the court.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com