Cllr. Arthur Tamba Johnson, lead counsel for former Finance Minister Samuel D. Tweah Jr., has cautioned his client against refusing to seek Supreme Court review of a lower court ruling that set aside his not-guilty verdict.
Johnson described Tweah's refusal to appeal the ruling by Criminal Court "C" as "legally detrimental," saying the defense team would attempt to persuade him to pursue available judicial remedies.
In a Facebook post Monday, Johnson said his membership in the Supreme Court Bar imposes an ethical duty on him to take all necessary and lawful steps to protect his client's interests.
"My ethics do not require me to listen to my client's decision not to appeal or seek judicial remedy to a decision that violates his rights if it is legally detrimental to him, but to provide adequate legal representation for my client," Cllr. Johnson wrote.
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"We will seek to convince our client to allow us to take advantage of the law governing the case or to appeal the lower court's decision," he added.
Johnson said he could not ignore a ruling that could adversely affect his client, warning that failing to pursue available legal remedies could also have professional consequences for members of the defense team.
"My failure to do so may threaten my license, involving the entire legal team," he said. "Therefore, we will engage Minister Tweah to allow us to proceed in accordance with the law."
Tweah announced his refusal to appeal after Criminal Court "C" Judge Ousman F. Feika set aside a jury's not-guilty verdict and ordered a new trial following findings of jury tampering and misconduct.
In a July 21 Facebook post, Tweah described the ruling as a setback for Liberia's justice system and democracy.
"Today, Liberian justice and democracy took a gigantic step backward, but men are prepared to resist this slide into anarchy," Tweah wrote.
"No judge, no justice and no President can ever change my not-guilty verdict. It is etched in the history of our country," he added, describing the court's decision as a "kangaroo ruling."
Tweah said he had instructed his lawyers not to file an appeal or seek any other remedy before the Supreme Court.
"Our legal journey has since ended with my verdict, and I will not submit myself to any Supreme Court process," he said. "As such, they will file nothing before the Supreme Court."
Despite Tweah's position, Johnson formally excepted the lower court's ruling and initially announced an appeal to the Supreme Court.
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"This ruling has destroyed our entire democracy and our judicial system," Johnson said following the decision.
He argued that the laws cited by the judge were applied after the jury had been discharged and maintained that the court lacked the legal authority to recall the jurors.
