A recent Criminal Court 'C' jury verdict, the acquittal of four individuals in the US$100 million cocaine trafficking case, has caused frustration with what many Liberians perceive as a broken justice system.
However, another US$31,625 opened on Tuesday, August 20, at the Criminal Court 'C' with the defense lawyers appearing optimistic that the eleven (11) defendants will walk away free in the coming weeks by the jury.
In this case, the government indicted eleven persons including the alleged ringleader, George Obi alias Japan, a Nigerian.
They are to be tried on multiple criminal offenses including Unlicensed Maintenance and Distribution of Controlled Drugs or Substances, Unlicensed Sale and Distribution of Controlled Drugs or Substances and Criminal.
The market value of the drug is worth US$31,625.00, equivalent to LRD$6,077,370.00.
According to the indictment, Obi and his co-defendants were arrested at his Compound on February 21, 2024, in Sayon Town, Bushrod Island.
At yesterday's proceedings, the defendants pleaded not guilty when the indictment containing their charges was read in the courtroom.
With their not guilty plea, the burden is shifted to the prosecutors to establish the guilt of the defendants before the jury.
Besides announcing a not guilty plea, the defense lost three pretrial motions, that included a motion to bail, a separate trial, and suppression of evidence.
While trial by jury is seen as a fundamental right under the 1986 Constitution of the Republic of Liberia, it remains a rather controversial clause.
The acquittal by the jury in the US$100 million cocaine case, and the reaction to it in some quarters, brings into focus serious threats to the independence of the jury, and the power to acquit whenever it sees fit.
Jurors must be free to decide a case free from any pressure or intimidation, a judicial source told the Daily Observer.
"There have been several cases which have attracted media attention because juries have acquitted in situations in which defendants have admitted," one lawyer said. The case now rests with the jury again.
