AG says he met with DPP on legal team, relation with DPP "healthy, cordial and pleasant"

"The DPP and I enjoy a very healthy, cordial, pleasant and professional working relationship...I do not think the DPP has said anything to call that relationship into question." - AG Ramlogan

Attorney General Anand Ramlogan has made it clear that he was not acting unilaterally when he appointed a legal team to assist with prosecutions of people detained during the State of Emergency.

In fact Ramlogan has said he met with Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard on the issue.

Ramlogan's clarification was in response to a SUNDAY GUARDIAN article in which Gaspard suggested that there was political interference in his work and that he would “continue to jealously guard his office at all cost,” and continue to act independently.

Gaspard appeared to take direct aim at the AG when he told the Guardian: “No other office holder would be allowed to choose any attorney for me for the prosecution of any matter; that choice remains exclusively mine...I humbly prefer simply to continue to do my work soberly so as to protect and advance the public’s interest.”

Ramlogan told the Guardian Sunday the decision to prosecute “was and would always remain the DPP’s call.”

However, he said the creation of the legal team two weeks after the state of emergency was declared was done in full consultation with Gaspard and Police Commissioner Dwayne Gibbs.

“The team was selected in consultation and discussion with the DPP who attended the first meeting along with the Police Commissioner where it was made clear to everyone that the role and function of the team is to assist the police,” he said.

“I reinforced the fact that the DPP maintained overall control and independence with respect to prosecution in all matters.”

The AG said he also explained at that time that the selection of counsel for any prosecution was a matter for the DPP in his “sole judgment and discretion.”

He added that the DPP’s right to select counsel to prosecute criminal matters “has never been an issue.”

He said the DPP did not talk about any attempt by any "public official" to select counsel for him.

“That said, the attorneys who were selected on the team traditionally have been retained by the DPP to prosecute matters on behalf of the State and that was obviously a relevant consideration in their selection,” Ramlogan said.

“The purpose of the team is simply to assist in proper case management as we prepare for an avalanche of cases with respect to the state of emergency,” the AG added.

He said the team's role is also to provide vital logistical and technical support to the in-house lawyers in the Police Service.

“The in-house team is very small and simply don’t have the capacity to deal with this volume of cases,” Ramlogan explained, noting that the team's primary role is proper case preparation to provide the DPP with sound basis for criminal prosecution.

The AG also stated that there is no conflict between him and the DPP, a point also made by Gaspard in his interview with the Guardian.

“The DPP and I enjoy a very healthy, cordial, pleasant and professional working relationship...We meet regularly and have a sense of mutual respect and understanding for each other," Ramlogan said. "I do not think the DPP has said anything to call that relationship into question.”