ATTORNEYS for the Tobago East resident who is challenging the Elections and Boundaries Commission’s (EBC) report which led to the creation of three additional seats for the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) elections are questioning the power of a judge to “oust and allow for interference” of another judge’s order.

In a letter to the judicial support teams of the two judges – Justices Avason Quinlan-Williams and Carol Gobin – and the registrar of the Supreme Court, attorneys for June Jack McKenzie have asked that steps be taken to revert to the original position to have the case heard as a “rolled-up” hearing as originally ordered.

On October 25, Justice Carol Gobin ordered that McKenzie’s leave application be heard as a rolled-up hearing, meaning it would be heard along with the substantive claim.

She also said she will give her ruling on November 22, after setting a strict timeline for the filing of submissions and evidence.

[caption id="attachment_924025" align="alignnone" width="951"] Avason Quinlan-Williams[/caption]

On November 1, attorneys for the Attorney General filed an application asking that McKenzie’s leave application be set aside on the basis that she failed to bring the challenge promptly and was guilty of inordinate delay in bringing the judicial review proceedings.

Gobin indicated to the parties that she could not treat with the application as she was on vacation leave, and had referred the application to the case management committee for it to be assigned to the emergency judge.

On November 9, Justice Quinlan-Williams indicated she was the judge assigned the matter and was suspending Gobin’s previous ruling, setting Monday aside to hear the AG’s application.

However, it is the position of McKenzie’s attorneys that Quinlan-Williams, as emergency judge, only had the jurisdiction to deal with issues in the case if one of the parties asked that it be dealt with on an emergency basis.

“..It is patently clear that an expeditious hearing of all the issues in the round and a determination at first instance can only be achieved by way of the ‘rolled-up hearing.'”

They said due respect must be paid to all judicial rulings and directions given by the substantive judge assigned to the case, insisting that Gobin’s orders and directions could not be suspended by another judge.

“To do so would be tantamount to setting aside the discretion and guidance of the docketed judge…”

They also said a court order could only be set aside on appeal.

“There was no basis and there continues to be no basis upon which Quinlan-Williams J could become seized of the proceedings so as to oust the docketed judge and/or to allow for the interference of Gobin J’s Order for a rolled-up hearing,” they said in their letter.

They further added that Quinlan-Williams had no jurisdiction to treat issues arising in the proceedings afresh as it was “wholly erroneous in law” to do so.

In any event, they have also advanced that the AG’s application can be dealt with in the rolled-up hearing.

They have asked that t