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Jury Not Selected In Smith Inquest

By Quincy Parker

It was expected to begin with jury selection, but before that process had even begun, the inquest into the sudden death of Daniel Wayne Smith veered into unexpected territory, with the 12 prospective jurors and the press almost immediately asked to vacate the court.

Larry Birkhead – who claims the be the father of the daughter of the late Anna Nicole Smith – leaves the coroner’s court on Tuesday. (Photo by Kristaan Ingraham)

Smith was the 20-year-old son of the late Anna Nicole Smith, the controversial permanent resident of The Bahamas who Florida authorities say died of an accidental drug overdose on February 8 in a Florida casino hotel room. The son died on September 10 at Doctors Hospital in New Providence, where he was visiting his mother and newborn sister Dannielynn.

The published cause of death for mother and son are similar, with well-known pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht having said last year that Daniel too died of an accidental drug overdose. In both cases, prescription drugs interacted with each other and methadone and led to death.

The inquest into Daniel’s death was originally set to begin on October 23 last year before then-Chief Coroner Linda Virgill, but that did not happen. Instead, after months of police and judicial authorities intimating that an inquest might not be necessary, a new date of March 27 was set.

On Tuesday morning, just before jury selection was set to begin, Wayne Munroe – who represents Howard K. Stern (Ms. Smith’s lawyer-turned-lover) in the proceedings – cited two recent English rulings. One was a recent ruling in relation to the inquest into the high-profile death of England’s Princess Diana and her companion Dodi al Fayed, son of Harrod’s boss Mohammed al Fayed.

Former Deputy Royal Coroner Baroness Elizabeth Butler-Schloss, who will hear the May inquest into the deaths, had determined that she would hear the matter without a jury. Her decision was appealed and reversed by a higher court earlier this month.

The coroner had declared, in a 34-page ruling, that the inquest would not have a jury because it would be difficult to find jurors who did not have strong opinions about the August 31, 1997, deaths of the princess and Mr. Al Fayed, who were pursued by paparazzi and crashed in Paris.

Mr. Munroe cited this and another English case – which was a criminal case and some lawyers involved said it did not apply – and asked the court to hear his submissions on the cases in the absence of the jury and press.

Attorney Godfrey ‘Pro’ Pinder – who represents a number of witnesses in the inquest – told the Journal what the substance of Mr. Munroe’s submissions were.

"He’s arguing that his client Howard K. Stern is concerned about the fairness of the jury, and that they should put a questionnaire to them so that they can determine the fairness of these potential jurors, so that he can ensure that his client gets a fair shake," Mr. Pinder explained.

"You can’t (question a Coroner’s jury), but he (Munroe) said he had some cases. We’re going to look at them and see what happens," he added.

According to Mr. Pinder, it is possible to have a bench trial in which Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez, who is presiding over this inquest, hears the evidence himself.

While the lawyers are not under a gag order, per se, many of them were reluctant to speak to the press.

One lawyer involved said that Mr. Munroe’s submissions are not aimed at not having a jury, but only to point out that, without some form of inquiry, the court will be hard-pressed to determine that the empanelled jury would be impartial.

Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner, who is marshalling the evidence on the Coroner’s behalf, said the matter is not likely to be heard in open court again until Thursday morning.

He said there would be no jury, and therefore no press, present when arguments on the application continue on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30.

Mr. Turner explained why the press and jury were asked to leave the proceedings at the same time.

"There are occasions when in court proceedings…when there is a jury present, (matters) take place in the absence of the jury. When the jury is absent, then the press is absent, because we do not want reported that which the jury is not present to hear. We don’t want it to be reported because then the jury would hear it," he said.

"The jury selection has not commenced. It might start on Thursday."

Deborah Rose, who appeared for Virgie Arthur (Ms. Smith’s mother), said there was "a fair process that’s in progress," but was reluctant to say more.

Tuesday’s proceedings were to have included testimony from witnesses including the manager of the East Bay Street Esso On The Run service station, where Daniel is supposed to have stopped for dinner, and to use the ATM on the way from the airport to visit his mother and Dannielynn.

This was supposedly around 1:15 on the morning of September 9.

The witnesses were eventually told around 11:45 Tuesday morning that they could leave, which they did. A few minutes later, the lawyers began filing out, and so did the jury.

While not all the witnesses are expected to have lawyers present to protect their interests, many of the more high-profile witnesses had lawyers present on Tuesday.

Attorneys Claire Hepburn and Michaela Sumner-Budhi appeared for Doctors Hospital, where the young man died. Anthony McKinney joined Mr. Munroe as counsel for Mr. Stern; Ms. Rose appeared for Mrs. Arthur, and Kara Butler for Daniel’s father Billy Smith.

Mr. Pinder appeared for G. Ben Thompson, the man who claims to own the Horizons home where Ms. Smith lived while resident in The Bahamas.

He also represents Mr. Thompson’s son-in-law Ford Shelley Jr. Mr. Pinder also appeared for Quethlie Alexie and Nadine Alexis, sisters who worked as nannies at Horizons caring for Ms. Smith’s baby.

http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12097

Gibson to Pursue Lawsuits

By Macushla N. Pinder

Former Immigration and Labour Minister Shane Gibson said recently he plans to push ahead with several lawsuits against both local and international media houses after the general election.

Declining to reveal details of any of the "four to five cases", Minister Gibson said only that the parties would be dealt the "fullest extent of the law."

"I don’t want to give any heads-up as to how we would actually go about this, but there was a lot of libellous information disclosed," he said in an interview with the Bahama Journal.

"…There’s nothing wrong with reporting the truth, but I think there is something definitely wrong with trying to twist the truth. But at the end of the day, the truth will prevail."

Several weeks ago, the former Cabinet Minister retained the services of top notch multi-millionaire US attorney, Willie Gary, to help clear his name in the ongoing controversy involving late American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith.

The Florida based attorney reportedly earned his reputation by representing little-known clients against major corporations.

The Bahama Journal has learnt that Mr. Gary is preparing a lawsuit for Mr. Gibson, who is expected to sue an international media house for what he claims are scandalous and libellous comments.

According to a well-placed source, plans are also underway to sue Callenders & Co attorneys Michael Scott and Tracey Ferguson as well as The Tribune.

Mr. Gibson resigned as Cabinet Minister in the Christie administration last month amid stinging allegations stemming from his involvement with Ms. Smith.

The resignation came nearly a week after the Tribune newspaper published photographs showing the minister and Ms. Smith in warm embraces.

It also followed allegations that the minister had received a Rolex watch from Ms Smith as a thank-you present for the approval of her permanent residency application last year.

But Mr. Gibson has on numerous occasions unequivocally denied that he accepted any gift or favour from any one as reward for the granting or an inducement to grant any permit to Ms. Smith or anyone else.

He added that his continued presence on the frontlines would make it extremely difficult for the government to focus on issues that are of central concern like crime, illegal immigration, education, National Health Insurance, the economy, affordable housing and social welfare.

"I have no regrets about resigning," Mr Gibson told the Bahama Journal.

"I have regrets about how the truth was twisted, but time has a way of dealing with these things."

Mr. Gibson has kept a low profile since tendering his resignation, shifting his focus and energy to his and the governing party’s campaign.

"I feel comfortable in Golden Gates, but of course, you should never take anyone for granted," he said.

"And so every day, I’m putting in three to four hours, hitting the streets, knocking on doors, talking to constituents, meeting with those who have concerns."

When asked if he would accept the position as a cabinet minister if the Progressive Liberal Party were to be re-elected, Mr. Gibson said he wished to take one day at a time.

"I want to try to see if I can win Golden Gates again. I feel comfortable. We did a good job there," he said.

"We were able to initiate our computer lab and marching band. We have a number of programmes going on in the constituency and I just want to concentrate on winning Golden Gates first and make a decision as to where I will go next after this."

The former Cabinet Minister confirmed that he has been approached by an international company for the publication of a book.

"My only concentration right now is trying to help my party continue being the government, trying to assist as many of my colleagues as possible – those who require my assistance and after that time move on," Mr. Gibson said.

http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12081