Before he was appointed Acting Chief Justice of Liberia few months ago, jurists and ordinary individuals who knew Judge Francis S. Korkpor, Sr., rated him for his firm stance against corruption and judicial malpractices. And surely as night follows day, he vowed exactly the same lines upon being inducted Monday by the President as full Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Bench.
In a statement following his induction, Chief Justice Korkpor warned judges and lawyers to eschew corruption and judicial malpractices in the practice of their profession, and vowed the Bench would not tolerate acts of dereliction.
"We will not tolerate judicial malpractices by judges and ethical transgressions of lawyers," he stressed, adding: "A clear signal of our resolve to firmly deal with these unwholesome practices, which no doubt, erode public confidence in the judiciary, were sent at the end of the October 2012 term of the Supreme Court, where the Court handed down rulings against judges and lawyers who were involved in judicial malpractices."
Those rulings penalized several lawyers for gross ethical transgressions, including the five-year ban on Cllr. Marcus R. Jones based on judicial malpractice against Rev. Eric Allison, senior pastor of the Barnesville Lutheran Church.
Rev. Allison complained Cllr. Jones, who is senior evangelist at the same church, for failure to report to him 65% from the US$180,000 Kenya Airways paid in compensation for his wife--Mrs. Amelia Allison--who died in the jetliner's crash into the Atlantic Ocean off Abidjan in 2000.
According to reports, Cllr. Jones, a former president of the Liberia National Bar Association, had reportedly volunteered to follow up the payment of the US$180,000 benefit claims and decided 35% of amount as fees for himself.
But the lawyer later equated the five-year ban of direct or indirect legal practice in Liberia to a "death penalty" since he must practice his profession in order to live.
While serving as Acting Chief Justice, Korkpor fired a warning salvo at judges in subordinate courts when he directed that their judgments henceforth be accompanied with supportive legal references clearly substantiating conviction or acquittal.
We believe this directive is not only necessary for the Supreme Court in case of an appeal, but also for prosecution and defense lawyers as well as plaintiffs and defendants.
It is heartening that the new Chief Justice reaffirmed his awareness about the enormous task of heading the Supreme Court and the Judiciary, and informed members of the legal profession of his acknowledgement that the preferment has made him "only the first amongst equals who hold the organic laws of our land in their hands."
Once again the onus is reinforced on the Korkpor Bench to accelerate needed judicial reforms in Liberia and also ensure speedy trial of cases overcrowding court dockets for years in virtually all counties.
Chief Justice Korkpor and Associate Justice Sie-Anyene Yuoh exhibited keenness when President Sirleaf noted that Liberia has not done so well in the administration of justice, citing: "The most serious human rights abuses were those tied to lack of justice, judicial inefficiency and corruption, lengthy pretrial detention, dial of due process, and hash prison conditions, violence against women and children, including rape and domestic violence."
Therefore, We challenge both judges to rejuvenate their colleagues on the Bench to reverse this negative trend in our nascent democracy. The sooner the better.
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I hope Chief Justice Korkpor will walk the talk because the rule of law is the only weapon that will save Liberians from themselves. Secondly, the Chief Justice must prosecute corruption officials who have been indicted in audit reports since Mr. John Morlu's time. Liberia cannot continue on the path of corruption and impunity and expects the nation and its people to survive. We need our laws to be implemented without favor, status, and who you know. Liberia must change from her past trespasses if it must evolve as a civilized nation.