Lawyer accuses police commissioner of ‘intimidation’
Ullger makes formal complaint to judiciary
A Gibraltar barrister said yesterday that a formal complaint filed against him by police commissioner Joe Ullger amounted to “a highly improper attempt at intimidation.”
The complaint was filed with the Supreme Court registrar to be forwarded to the Admissions and Disciplinary Committee, the official body that deals with these matters.
David Hughes, a barrister with local legal firm Phillips, told the Magistrate’s Court that the complaint related to advice he had given to three of his clients. The three persons, who were not identified, are involved in two separate, though factually-linked cases before the court.
In one case they are defendants represented by Mr Hughes. In the other case, in which Mr Hughes had no direct role, they were due to give evidence as witnesses for the Crown prosecution.
The police commissioner filed his complaint after Mr Hughes advised his clients that, because of the factual link between the two cases, it was not in their best interests to give evidence as witnesses. The barrister said he had notified Crown prosecutors of the advice he had given his clients. The response was a written complaint from Commissioner Ullger, who in it made clear that he had even considered conducting a criminal investigation into the barrister’s actions.
Mr Hughes told the court that the commissioner’s complaint amounted, in his view, to “a highly improper attempt at intimidation.” “I will not be intimidated by his actions, but a reasonable observer might think that I might,” he said. He asked Stipendiary Magistrate Charles Pitto to adjourn the case against his clients until the complaint was “dismissed”.
In response to the application, Mr Pitto said that the police commissioner was entitled to file a complaint if he believed it necessary. He also said that it would be improper for the court to view the complaint as an attempt at intimidation “at this stage”.
Yesterday, Mr Pitto could see no valid reason to halt proceedings pending the outcome of the complaint. He set a date at the end of next month for a committal hearing.
The final decision on whether to uphold or dismiss the complaint against Mr Hughes will be taken by Derek Schofield, the Chief Justice. Before that, the complaint will be assessed by the Admissions and Disciplinary Committee, which will then pass on its recommendations to the Chief Justice. Members of the committee include the Attorney General, the leader of the Bar and a number of senior lawyers.
From The Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801
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