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| Backed a squad of influential women, Mayor Broh prevented the incarceration of suspended Supt Kpaan |
The Supreme Court yesterday gave the House of Representatives a 10-day ultimatum within which to respond to separate writs of prohibitions filed before that High Court by suspended Acting Mayor Mary Broh and suspended Montserrado County Superintendent Grace Kpaan.
A conference with lawyers representing House Speaker Alex Tyler and members of the House of Representatives, the Minister of Justice, as well as those representing Supt. Kpaan, was convened by the Supreme Court yesterday.
Anonymous judicial sources said the conference was occasioned by the filing by suspended Supt. Kpaan of a petition for a writ of prohibition over the weekend. Grace Kpaan sought the writ of prohibition to prohibit House Speaker Tyler and members of the House of Representatives from committing her to prison because of what she termed a denial of due process, the sources noted.
At the same time, the Suspended Superintendent and the Ministry of Justice filed a bill of information which was followed by the filing of a second petition for a writ of prohibition against the House, this time by the controversial, suspended Mayor Broh.
“Based on this, the Justice in Chambers, Philip A. Z. Banks III, having thoroughly reviewed the various petitions and the bill of prohibition, and believing that the issues presented by the petitioners were of constitutional significance and needed resolution by the Court in regard to separation of powers of the three Branches, due process of law, contempt powers, etc., determined that the alternative writ of prohibition should be issued so that the issues presented could be resolved by the Court,” added the sources.
“In addition, because of the constitutional issues presented, the Justice in Chambers ordered the cases forwarded to the full bench of the Court for hearing, which decided to give priority to the cases immediately upon convening in its March Term, 2013,” added the sources.
It may be recalled that the legal counsel for Suspended Superintendent Grace Kpaan, Cllr. Pearl Brown-Bull, Monday filed a petition before the full bench of the Supreme Court, praying for an injunction (command, ruling) against the search and arrest order that a warrant the House of Representatives had issued, following a melee that broke out at the Monrovia Central Prison on Thursday evening.
Unimpeachable reports gathered by the Daily Observer have it that the Supreme Court yesterday placed a stay order on the arrest of controversial Acting Monrovia City Mayor Mary Broh and embattled Montserrado County Superintendent Grace Kpaan, courtesy of Cllr. Bull’s intervention.
Yet, the House of Representatives remains adamant about enforcing their decision to arrest, jail and have dismissed the two individuals they pegged ‘wanted fugitives.’
Anonymous judicial sources said the conference was occasioned by the filing by suspended Supt. Kpaan of a petition for a writ of prohibition over the weekend. Grace Kpaan sought the writ of prohibition to prohibit House Speaker Tyler and members of the House of Representatives from committing her to prison because of what she termed a denial of due process, the sources noted.
At the same time, the Suspended Superintendent and the Ministry of Justice filed a bill of information which was followed by the filing of a second petition for a writ of prohibition against the House, this time by the controversial, suspended Mayor Broh.
“Based on this, the Justice in Chambers, Philip A. Z. Banks III, having thoroughly reviewed the various petitions and the bill of prohibition, and believing that the issues presented by the petitioners were of constitutional significance and needed resolution by the Court in regard to separation of powers of the three Branches, due process of law, contempt powers, etc., determined that the alternative writ of prohibition should be issued so that the issues presented could be resolved by the Court,” added the sources.
“In addition, because of the constitutional issues presented, the Justice in Chambers ordered the cases forwarded to the full bench of the Court for hearing, which decided to give priority to the cases immediately upon convening in its March Term, 2013,” added the sources.
It may be recalled that the legal counsel for Suspended Superintendent Grace Kpaan, Cllr. Pearl Brown-Bull, Monday filed a petition before the full bench of the Supreme Court, praying for an injunction (command, ruling) against the search and arrest order that a warrant the House of Representatives had issued, following a melee that broke out at the Monrovia Central Prison on Thursday evening.
Unimpeachable reports gathered by the Daily Observer have it that the Supreme Court yesterday placed a stay order on the arrest of controversial Acting Monrovia City Mayor Mary Broh and embattled Montserrado County Superintendent Grace Kpaan, courtesy of Cllr. Bull’s intervention.
Yet, the House of Representatives remains adamant about enforcing their decision to arrest, jail and have dismissed the two individuals they pegged ‘wanted fugitives.’
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