Lawyer warned about his conduct at The Serious Offences Court

Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias has issued a stern warning to lawyer Grant Connell about his conduct at the Serious Offences Court.

Last week, the Chief Magistrate was quite vocal about how unamused she was by Connell referring to Station Sergeant Duane Bailey as a cat.

Connell’s reference came while he represented Arnos Vale resident Carlos Lewis, who was later found guilty of having one 9 mm Lugar semiautomatic pistol and 9 mm ammunition.

Station Sergeant Bailey, a member of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) found the firearm in Lewis’ roof during a search of the premises. During cross-examination of his evidence, Connell accused the RRU officer of walking around in his client’s roof like a cat and even went on to make cat noises.

Connell further aggravated the Chief Magistrate when he appeared to have barely restrained himself from using an expletive while describing the lighting conditions of the house.

Browne-Matthias immediately drew this to Connell’s attention stating, “I know I did not just hear what I heard!”

She went on to state that she is not aware of how the lawyer acts in other courtrooms, but she would not put up with what she termed disrespectful behaviour at the Serious Offences Court.

The Chief Magistrate then voiced her displeasure at the manner in which Connell referred to the senior police officer and asked him to desist from so doing.

Connell however said his description was a clear representation of how Bailey manoeuvred across the roof, as he stated in his evidence.(AS)