Liberia: Judiciary Reacts To Unwarranted Media Attacks On Chief Justice, Associate Justices, Judges

Monrovia -The Judiciary Branch of Government has termed as unacceptable and unwarranted, the increasing wave of media attacks on the individual persons of the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Liberia as well as Judges of subordinate courts, which if not checked could put the lives and safety of these judicial officials and their family members in great danger.

Reacting to the April 22, 2019 frontpage publication of the FrontPage Africa Newspaper titled “Liberia’s IMO REP vents anger at Supreme Court Chief Justice Francis Korkpor ‘MY BLOOD WILL BE ON HIS HANDS’”, the Director of Judicial Public Information described such publication as not only intended to intimidate the courts but also a direct intention to besmear the hard earned reputation of the Chief Justice of the Republic of Liberia and in some cases Associate Justices and Judges of subordinate courts.

Atty. Darryl Ambrose Nmah, Sr. asserted that such insinuation reportedly coming from Atty. Isaac Jackson is not only unwarranted but also reckless for the fact that Atty. Jackson being a lawyer knows, or ought to know, that opinions and judgments of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia are not rendered or made by the Chief Justice, but rather, by a unanimous decision of the full Bench or majority members of the Bench in which case the single vote of the Chief Justice could either be with those of the majority or the descent and that Atty. Jackson cannot pre-judge matters that are pending before a court undetermined.

Director Nmah, in a Judicial Press Release, expressed deep concerns that the publication by the FrontPage Africa Newspaper would take the line of questioning by Justices on the Supreme Court Bench during arguments in a case and insinuate that a particular party litigant has prevailed in that case.
This he termed as worrying and dangerous for the administration of justice as such publication could sent the wrong signals to the reading public and put the safety of the Justices and Judges at risk.