Lawyer for Donna-Lee’s cop beau says Crown going down ‘slippery road’ Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Attorney Christopher Townsend has chided the prosecution for its failure to disclose key documents in the Noel Maitland murder case, which has frustrated his firm’s attempts to file a bail application for the incarcerated cop.

“I am extremely disappointed in how it is the prosecution is toying with the rights of the accused man,” Townsend told Loop News on Tuesday.

“A long time ago, there was a failure to disclose and the Privy Council slapped the DPP’s [Director of Public Prosecutions] office across their face. The ruling suggested that they had a duty to disclose or declare; this new approach that is being taken by them is down a slippery road in terms of what is justice,” he argued.

Townsend was referring to the case of Randall v R where the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council dealt with the issue of prosecutorial conduct on April 16, 2002. The Privy Council affirmed that: “[T]he right of a criminal defendant to a fair trial is absolute… The right to a fair trial is one to be enjoyed by the guilty as well as the innocent, for a defendant is presumed to be innocent until proved to be otherwise in a fairly conducted trial.”

It is against this background that Townsend expressed surprise at the actions of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the murder case involving Maitland, who appeared in court on Monday on a charge of murder in relation to the disappearance of his girlfriend, social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson.

During the proceedings, several witness statements were withheld from being served on the defence because of a reported attempt to pervert the course of justice in at least one instance, prosecutors alleged.

“We are quite surprised by this, having served in the office of the DPP myself…this is something new to me, this kind of unlawful strategic movement. He has a right to see what is against him, it is not the prosecution’s function to hide evidence from the accused, that is not their function, not as I understand it,” said Townsend, who is representing the accused cop.

The police constable has been in custody since his arrest on July 27 in relation to Donaldson’s disappearance. Townsend said that the defence lawyers need more disclosure to be able to properly advise Maitland.

Townsend declared the behaviour of the prosecutors as a dark harbinger, heralding “a dark day within the history of our justice system”.

“The prosecution claims that the information is already disclosed in the statements that they gave to us — the pr?cis of the facts — [but] often times it has been my experience that what is contained in the statement is not what is given in this pr?cis of the facts, and so the statements are what is relied upon to confirm what it is the witness has said,” Townsend said.

A pr?cis is a way of summarising in which the tone, proportions, and meaning of the original text are maintained. A pr?cis summarises a reading that has been completed.

On Monday, the matter was stood down to allow the Crown to review materials and make submissions to the defence. During the proceedings, the Crown indicated that it wanted to ensure the protection of witnesses.

Maitland is accused of the murder of Donaldson, who was reportedly last seen at his New Kingston apartment on July 11.

She was reported missing on July 13. The police had indicated that investigations concluded that Donaldson was killed on July 12 between 4pm and 8pm. They stated that this was supported by forensic evidence and technology but noted that a motive has not yet been established for the killing.

Maitland was on Monday remanded until September 16.

— Claude Mills

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