By Robert Andre Emmanuel
With his defence attorneys lodging another no case submission, this time arguing that the prosecution has breached his constitutional rights, Dean Jonas will have to wait until August 29 to hear whether or not his case will be dismissed.
Yesterday, at the St John’s Magistrates’ Court, attorneys-at-law Wendel Alexander and George Lake argued before Magistrate Dane Hamilton that the prosecution had failed to notify the attorneys and Jonas that they had withdrawn and subsequently refiled the charges against him.
The move comes after a previous no-case submission, arguing that proceedings were initiated without written authorisation from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), as required by the Criminal Prosecutions Service Act of 2017, was dismissed by the court.
Alexander argued that the prosecution should have re-summoned Jonas to formally charge him under the new charges and that failing to do so was a breach of his constitutional rights and an abuse of process.
The prosecution rebuffed arguments by Jonas’ defence attorneys.
The magistrate has told both sides to submit legal arguments on the matters to be decided in the late summer.
Jonas, the former minister of Social Transformation and Gender Affairs, and the Blue Economy, is facing charges related to assault, resisting arrest, making use of threatening language, disorderly conduct, and battery after an incident that occurred at his Scott’s Hill home on February 23, 2023.
The incident and charges stem from a dispute between Jonas and his ex-lover over the custody of their child.