Robinson awaits court ruling
Published:Saturday | June 12, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
OUSTED MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for North East St Ann, Shahine Robinson, is to know next week Friday if Supreme Court Judge Roy Jones will reverse his decision which declared her seat vacant.
Justice Jones, after hearing legal submissions yesterday, reserved his decision.
Robinson's seat was declared vacant last week Monday because she did not comply with a court order on April 14 to file a proper defence, supply witness statement and disclosures. Robinson and her lawyers were not present when the ruling was made last week and she wants the opportunity to get a hearing to defend the election petition brought against her.
elector filed petition
Manley Bowen, an elector in the North East St Ann constituency, had filed the petition contending that Robinson had dual citizenship and was not entitled under the Constitution of Jamaica to be an MP.
Robinson is maintaining in her affidavit that "at the time of nomination and election, I was not a citizen of the United States of America". She said she was not infringing the Constitution of Jamaica.
She said Bowen had failed to annex any relevant document to his affidavit or claim form to support his mere allegation that she was a US citizen. Robinson said she had no relevant document to attach to her affidavit to dispute the claimant's baseless allegation.
Bowen's lawyers, Abe Dabdoub, Raymond Clough and Franklin Halliburton, are opposing the application. They are contending that the judge's function came to an end once he ordered that the certificate of disqualification must be issued to the Speaker of the House of Representatives. They said the only other recourse was for Robinson to challenge the ruling in the Court of Appeal.