30th March
Coroners Act Challenged
By Quincy Parker
Howard K. Stern – Anna Nicole Smith’s live-in lawyer and the presumptive father of her daughter Dannielynn – has asked the Supreme Court to declare that the Coroners Act is unconstitutional.
Anna Nicole Smith is the controversial Bahamian permanent resident, and former Playboy playmate, who appeared in photographs with former Immigration, Labour and Training Minister Shane Gibson that caused controversy, and eventually led to Mr. Gibson’s resignation from the Christie Cabinet.
And, Mr. Stern wants the Supreme Court of The Bahamas to order the coroner in the inquest into the death of Anna Nicole’s son Daniel to do things that he cannot do under the current Coroners Act.
The application asks the Supreme Court to order the Coroner to compose a questionnaire to be answered by prospective jurors on oath, that the aforesaid questionnaire be composed after representation from lawyers for interested parties and that those lawyers be allowed to question – and challenge for cause related to bias – prospective jurors on their answers.
The Coroners Act makes no provision for any such questioning or challenging of the jury.
If the higher court makes no order allowing for the questioning and challenging of the jury, Mr. Stern wants the Supreme Court to issue an Order staying the inquest into the young man’s sudden death at Doctors Hospital on September 10, 2006, until the legislature or the Rules Committee take steps, "legislatively or by making regulations, to ensure impartiality of jurors."
Wayne Munroe filed the Supreme Court action on Mr. Stern’s behalf. He is Mr. Stern’s counsel in the inquest into the young man’s death, which began in the Coroner’s Court on Tuesday.
The questionnaire is a remedy offered by Mr. Munroe to the dilemma of ensuring an impartial jury in the inquest without abridging the provisions of the Coroners Act.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Mr. Munroe told Mr. Gomez, "the only question is, as a matter of law, can you provide a remedy? And the only problem is, as a matter of law, you can’t."
The application seeks a declaration that the Coroners Act is expressly inconsistent with Section 20(8) of the Bahamas Constitution in that it fails to provide mechanism to ensure an impartial jury in general, and specifically in the Daniel Smith inquest.
"It is a challenge that is fundamental in its nature," Anthony McKinney told the court. Mr. McKinney is Mr. Munroe’s co-counsel in the inquest.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Bernard Turner, who is marshalling the evidence, pointed out in response that the legal team for Mr. Stern had taken it upon themselves to file an application seeking for the Supreme Court to order the Coroners Court to do what that selfsame legal team has concluded that the Coroners Court cannot do.
"If there is now a Constitutional challenge to the Constitutionality of the Coroners Act, it is not something which came up ex improviso – it was known all along that the date for this matter was set," Mr. Turner said, pointing out that the scope of the Coroners Act was also known all along.
He said the issue could have been raised, and resolved, before the inquest began.
After the question of the Supreme Court application was concluded – the lawyers will return to court to update the coroner on the status of the application on April 4 – talk turned to the determination of "properly interested parties" to the inquest.
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/?c=45&a=12128
Yes
No
Not Sure
Yes 45% 2874 Votings No 53% 3392 Votings Not Sure 2% 152 Votings Total: 6418 Votings
Wonder how we Americans would feel if an interloper came into our country and tried to change our Constitution....oh wait, that is happening.
At any rate, here's what i say to Mr. Munroe: "tell your client if he doesn't want a tainted jury pool he should commit his murders on a bigger island. tell him that it doesn't help to try and change the Constitution of an island he's only lived on for less than a year and which he is not even a citizen of. tell him to cut the crap with all the legal maneuverings and appeals and stays. then maybe he wouldn't look as guilty as he is."