An investigation by the Sunday Expressed has raised questions about Magistrate Avason Quinlan, who continues to sit on the Bench while she is before a disciplinary tribunal on four charges of judicial misconduct in a bail-fixing incident involving two men accused of drug trafficking.
Quinlan is married to Deputy Police Commissioner Stephen Williams.
"She is accused of fixing bail with a surety in the sum of $10,000 for each of the two men, four hours after they were denied bail and remanded in custody by her colleague sitting in the Port of Spain drug court, Magistrate Brian Dabideen," the Express reported.
The paper said Quinlan has denied all charges of wrongdoing. It said when it contacted the magistrate about the matter she said: "I have absolutely no idea what you are speaking about."
The report also stated that Dabideen said when the men appeared before him the following day, he learned that they had lawyers and had been released on bail. It stated further that Dabideen said he checked the paperwork and discovered that his previous order had been "crossed off" and bail granted with a surety in the sum of $10,000 for each of the two accused.
The Express said both men had previous drug convictions and that Spencer had two previous cocaine trafficking charges within the last 15 years. That disqualified him from bail under Section Five of the amended 2008 Bail Act, the paper stated.
The report said Dabideen revoked Quinlan's bail order for both men, which he said were improperly granted. And in his affidavit to the JLSC-appointed investigator, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, he claimed he was told that Quinlan called the two drug trafficking cases later that same day and "tampered with my endorsements and fixed bail in circumstances where there was no tracing report and prior prosecution's objection to bail".
The report said Dabideen claimed that personnel in the Office of the Clerk of the Peace told him that the prisoners' case information was taken to the courtroom at the request of Magistrate Quinlan and that the transcript of the proceedings clearly showed "she knew that the two drug cases were earlier that day adjudicated upon."
The Express report said the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) charged Quinlan early last year, following a formal complaint that she tampered with another magistrate's order that the men be remanded in custody.
"She is accused of fixing bail with a surety in the sum of $10,000 for each of the two men, four hours after they were denied bail and remanded in custody by her colleague sitting in the Port of Spain drug court, Magistrate Brian Dabideen," the Express reported.
The paper said Quinlan has denied all charges of wrongdoing. It said when it contacted the magistrate about the matter she said: "I have absolutely no idea what you are speaking about."
The Express reported that Dabideen filed a formal complaint against his colleague in July 2009 with Senior Magistrate Lucina Cardenas Ragoonanan.
His report stated that when Robert Spencer and Anthony Wilson appeared before him they were not represented by counsel. He added that they refused to be fingerprinted and admitted to having criminal records. He ordered that they be remanded into custody until the next day, pending a background check.
The report also stated that Dabideen said when the men appeared before him the following day, he learned that they had lawyers and had been released on bail. It stated further that Dabideen said he checked the paperwork and discovered that his previous order had been "crossed off" and bail granted with a surety in the sum of $10,000 for each of the two accused.
The Express said both men had previous drug convictions and that Spencer had two previous cocaine trafficking charges within the last 15 years. That disqualified him from bail under Section Five of the amended 2008 Bail Act, the paper stated.
The report said Dabideen revoked Quinlan's bail order for both men, which he said were improperly granted. And in his affidavit to the JLSC-appointed investigator, Justice Maureen Rajnauth-Lee, he claimed he was told that Quinlan called the two drug trafficking cases later that same day and "tampered with my endorsements and fixed bail in circumstances where there was no tracing report and prior prosecution's objection to bail".
The report said Dabideen claimed that personnel in the Office of the Clerk of the Peace told him that the prisoners' case information was taken to the courtroom at the request of Magistrate Quinlan and that the transcript of the proceedings clearly showed "she knew that the two drug cases were earlier that day adjudicated upon."
The Express quoted from the court records showing that both men told Quinlan they had appeared before a magistrate earlier that day.
Read the complete report in the SUNDAY EXPRESS
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