Danny Mason Returns to Supreme Court in Belize City for Murder Trial
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When we last reported on the murder trial of William “Danny” Mason and his co-accomplices, it was from the Belmopan courts. Today, the trial was transferred to Belize City with Justice Antoinette Moore presiding. The trial of started with a Scenes of Crime technician taking the stand to provide testimony under oath. The hearing commenced shortly after nine o’clock this morning and concluded around five-thirty this evening. From the witness stand the technician, who has been working in that area of evidence gathering for the past twelve years, recounted the events surrounding the discovery of a severed human head inside a crocus sack stuffed inside a pigtail bucket. The discovery was made in the parking lot of El Rancho Bar in Belmopan in July 2016, inside the pan of a black Ford F-150 pickup truck belonging to Mason. As it turns out, the decapitated head was that of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas who had been reportedly abducted from Mason‘s home on Intelco Hill. From the dock this afternoon, the technician presented evidence in the form of articles of clothing, as well as other items retrieved from the suspects. On adjournment, attorney Bryan Neal shared with the media a few concerns following the testimony provided by the key witness earlier.
CCJ sits inside Belize Supreme Court for Maya Leaders Alliance vs the Attorney General of Belize Com
William Mason Case now in the Belize Supreme Court
Clear The Land Versus Alvarene Burgess Commences In Supreme Court
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What About Judges for Belize Supreme Court?
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While on the subject of justices, himself a top notch criminal lawyer, Attorney Bradley reflected on the state of affairs in the Belize judiciary. Bradley echoed the CJ’s statement at the opening of the Supreme Court in January noting that there is a shortage of judges. Bradley says that hundreds of accused persons are behind bars unable to come to trial because of the prevailing situation in the courts.
The Belize Family Court - Works of Family Court
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The Belize Family Court is an important part of our Judicial system established to settle family and juvenile matters in a holistic manner. Director Family Court, Dale Cayetano, was our guests to talk about the work of the court. He shared that they are planning to improve the functionality of the court by computerizing the system, improving the district support and including mediation in their processes.
The Supreme Court Rings in the 2019 Legal Year
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The 2019 sitting of the Supreme Court opened this morning with the fanfare that traditionally accompanies the event. The address on the administration of justice was delivered by Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington on behalf of the Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte. The Chief Justice reviewed and reflected on the work of the court. He noted that the budget was small, but there is progress on the prickly issue of backlog of cases. Criminal cases remained a challenge in the calendar of the courts. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports.
Supreme Court Belize Mediation (English)
The Mediation Process
Belize's Court of Appeal traverse cases
Five appeals from convicted criminals were scheduled to be heard, but ultimately none of them were because the appellants had failed to provide their grounds of appeal and in some cases, did not even have attorneys.
Read the full story at plustvbelize.com/court-of-appeal-traverse-cases/
Civil Suit in Belize City Gets Mixed Up
Testimonies in Orel Leslie’s Prison Lawsuit Conclude Before High Court
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Arguments concluded today in the courtroom of Justice Courtney Abel who is hearing the case brought against the management of the central prison, Kolbe Foundation, by a former inmate, Orel Leslie. Seven persons testified, including Prison C.E.O. Virgilio Murillo who was cross-examined by attorney Audrey Matura. Leslie is challenging the prison for inhumane treatment he claims he suffered while on remand for murder. One of these infractions was cited as the lack of visits by a Justice of the Peace. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was in court and files the following report.
Supreme Court Belize Mediation (Spanish)
The Mediation Process (Spanish)
Feel the ‘LOVE’ in Belama Phase Two Park
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The fifth in a series of signs created by attorney Estevan Perera and supported by the Belize City Council was unveiled this morning at a park in Belama Phase Two, across from Perera’s law office. The “Love Sign” as it is officially called joins two “Belize” signs along the Marine Parade and at Seashore Drive Park, and the Belize postcard sign in Battlefield Park with the Supreme Court in view. Perera and Mayor Darrell Bradley say they just want to spread a little love and joy across the Old Capital and make the perfect backdrop for selfies or intimate portraits.
Guilty as Charged – The Mason Five is Convicted of Beheading Pastor Lue
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The sensational trial of William “Danny’’ Mason and four other accused men concluded today in the Belmopan Supreme Court. As the nation waited with bated breath, the verdict from Justice Antoinette Moore was guilty, all five of them, on the grounds that the evidence presented by the prosecution, led by D.P.P. Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, was irrefutable. Mason along with Ernest Castillo, Ashton Vanegas, and siblings Keiron and Terrence Fernandez had acted in a joint enterprise to murder Pastor Llewellyn Lucas on July fifteenth of 2016. While a body was not found, the pastor’s head was found by police in a bucket in Mason’s vehicle parked at a bar in Belmopan. According to the Justice, as a matter of law, the court only needed to know that some harm occurred that led to the Pastor’s death. Furthermore, it was well-established that the pastor’s death was not accidental or by his own making. News Five’s Isani Cayetano has a full coverage of the trial of the century that took place over weeks and ended in a guilty verdict.
C.C.J. Itinerant Sitting in Belize
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There was an itinerant sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice here in Belize City this morning inside Courtroom Number One of the Supreme Court. The Maya Leaders Alliance, as well as representatives from the Attorney General’s Office, appeared once again before the appellate jurisdiction to present compliance and status reports in line with a consent order handed down in April 2015 involving Maya land rights. Since then, the court has held several post-judgment sittings to monitor the implementation of the court order. The M.L.A., led by spokesperson Cristina Coc, along with others from twenty-three indigenous communities in southern Belize, was present this morning. This is the second itinerant sitting of the C.C.J. in Belize, with a previous session being held in April 2015. Following today’s session, Coc spoke with the media.
Supreme Court Building Refurbished
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Three months ago, rehabilitation works commenced at the Supreme Court building in downtown Belize City. The works are part of a much larger infrastructural revitalization mission to rejuvenate the Belize City House of Culture and the heart of the Old Capital. The court’s rehabilitation works included roof repairs, ceiling and electrical works—totaling a cost of a little less than sixty-one thousand dollars. Hipolito Novelo reports.
Trial surrounding the Mek Mi Rich Game Show ends in the Belize Supreme Court
Monday night Princess Murdered in Belize City
Supreme Court emphasizes criminal justice reform in new legal year
The 2015 legal year for Belize’s Judiciary and Magistracy opened with prayer to the Almighty on Monday morning, at the Wesley Methodist Church in Belize City
Read the full story at plustvbelize.com/supreme-court-emphasizes-criminal-justice-reform-in-new-legal-year/
An Accused Murderer is Granted Supreme Court Bail of $40,000
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An unusual hearing took place today in the Supreme Court in which an accused murderer, waiting for a decision for two years, got bail. Curtis Lamb will be out on the streets of Belize City as early as Monday, after being granted bail in the sum of forty thousand dollars by Justice Herbert Lord this evening. Lamb is a prime suspect in the stabbing death of Justin Roches which occurred on August third, 2011. Since then he has been on remand at the Belize Central Prison and despite the conclusion of his trial on August tenth, 2016, Lamb has been languishing in jail without a decision being handed down in the matter. This afternoon, attorney Anthony Sylvestre submitted before the Supreme Court that the accused had been awaiting a ruling from the now-retired Justice Troadio Gonzalez. Sylvester also stated that Lamb has remained in detention for an additional two years and three months after the trial ended, not knowing his fate since a decision is still pending. Crown Counsel Riis Raymond Cattouse could not object to bail being granted because the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution is still waiting to hear from the Supreme Court whether the retired judge will return to deliver a verdict or if a retrial will be ordered.