Prosecutor loses appeal against professional misconduct conviction
Published:Tuesday | April 1, 2025 | 1:24 AMTanesha Mundle/Staff Reporter
Sophia Thomas, the prosecutor found guilty of professional misconduct for presenting false evidence in a fraud trial, will serve a six-month suspension from the legal profession after her appeal against the guilty verdict was denied.
Last Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed Thomas’ appeal and upheld the decision of the disciplinary committee of the General Legal Council (GLC), which had found her guilty of breaching the Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules in her role as Crown counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The suspension, originally set to begin on November 1, 2022, had been contested by Thomas, who argued that the committee had erred in its finding. She also claimed the disciplinary chairman had shown bias by asking her to make a plea in mitigation before the conclusion of her case.
However, the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Marva McDonald Bishop, Georgiana Fraser, and Nicole Simmons, concluded that Thomas had received a fair hearing. The judges found no evidence that the committee’s decision was “plain wrong”, affirming that the evidence and applicable law overwhelmingly supported the committee’s verdict.
“Thus, the committee cannot be faulted in its conclusion that the appellant brought into disrepute the profession’s integrity by her actions and conduct, having the requisite state of mind at the time of committing the offence,” Justice Fraser said.
The complaint arose from a fraud trial in November 2017, where Thomas was prosecuting Lowell Spence, a branch manager at the National Commercial Bank, who was acquitted following Thomas’ actions. Spence alleged that Thomas knowingly used false evidence or participated in creating or using false evidence.
WRONG DOCUMENTATION
During the trial, Thomas sought permission to refresh the memory of Crown witness Dominic Duval with a document. When handed to the defence counsel, the document was revealed to be a photocopy, not the original. The witness’ lawyer objected, and owing to Thomas’s failure to produce the original document, the trial was adjourned for it to be located.
When the trial resumed days later, the second document was found to differ from the original in 11 ways. Thomas insisted the content was essentially the same.
The trial was again suspended after the differences were identified and was further adjourned for the DPP to address the issue.
After the matter reconvened, Duval, under cross-examination, told the court that he had signed the document in question the day before coming to court and that he was instructed to sign it by the other Crown witness, who was head of the bank’s internal investigation division.
At the GLC hearing, Thomas maintained she did not realise the document was not the original, though she argued it would not have caused injustice to the complainant.
During the appeal, her lawyer, Hugh Wildman, argued, among other things, that the committee had failed to correctly identify the issues to be resolved before deciding whether the appellant was guilty of breaching the canons.
He also submitted that she was operating under a genuine mistake as to fact and, as such, lacked the necessary mens rea required to commit the offence.
However, Justice Fraser stated that Thomas, fully aware of her responsibility, knowingly misled the court by presenting a reprinted document as the original. She pointed to the fact that Thomas did not challenge the evidence that she had asked the second Crown witness to reprint and re-sign the statement.
The judge said Thomas knew that the original could not be found and gave instructions to procure a substitute.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the decision, and Thomas will serve her suspension as directed.
King’s Counsel Daniella Gentles Silvera represented the GLC.