The court of Appeal of the eastern Caribbean has upheld an appeal lodged by the State against former Postmaster General Clare Serephine-Wallace and prominent Dominican senior lawyer Michael E. Bruney after she was convicted by a Roseau Magistrate and fined on several postal matters. The matter was heard in St. Lucia.
She was slapped with 10 criminal charges in a matter dating back almost ten years ago.
The charges were detaining post letter; delaying post letter; delaying printed matter sent by post; fraudulently detaining post letter; detaining post letter; detaining post letter; delaying printed papers; fraudulently detaining post letters; willfully detaining or suffering to be detained several post letters; and willfully delaying in the course of conveyance by the post printed paper.
After hearing the evidence, Wallace was found guilty by the then chief magistrate Evalina Baptiste on four of the 10 charges.
According to documents obtained from the court, in the case #1468 (delaying post letter) of 2006, she was found guilty and fined EC$850.00 to be paid by April 30, 2017 in default 3 months jail.
She was also found guilty in #1469 of 2006 of delaying post letter and fined EC$400.00 to be paid by April 30, 2017 in default two months in jail. She was further convicted on #1470 of 2006 for delaying printed matter sent by post. Decision: no separate penalty.
Seraphine -Wallace, who has since been transferred from the post of Post Master General was fined a total of EC$1,900.00 to be paid by April 30, 2017 or in default she would go to jail for 9 months.
The States two grounds of appeal were that on the date of the purported conviction, the magistrate then (Evalina Baptiste) had no jurisdiction to convict her, since “she had demitted office in November 2013 and gave her decision December 2016 three years later.”
The other ground of appeal was that, “the Magistrate gave no reason (s) for her conviction contrary to section 146 of the Magistrates Code of Procedures Act.”
State attorney in the office of the attorney general Arthlyn Nesty led the state’s case with Clement Joseph former state attorney.
Lisa Defratis on behalf of Michael Bruney conceded the ground of appeal but then sort to argue for a retrial.
The court then considered the length of time of the matter, over 10 years; it was not a serious matter and also the strength of the evidence to convict said there was no evidence of willful detention of mail which was critical and lacking for the finding of guilty and denied a retrial. The sentence and conviction was quashed and the appeal was allowed.
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