BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ATTORNEY-AT-LAW Chesley Hamilton is calling on the Government to make available monies owed to him over a number of years for representing some individuals charged with the capital offence.
Hamilton, who recently called in to Freedom FM’s ‘Issues’ programme, claimed that as a Court-appointed Counsel, he had represented a number of individuals charged either with murder or manslaughter and to date he has not been properly compensated by the State for his services.
He explained that the monies owed to him date back to the former Administration and the issue continues today with the current one.
Reflecting on his career as a defence counsel, Hamilton said: “I have had a long legal career in this country doing mostly capital matters. As a matter of fact, my first case was a murder case, the murder of one Grizzly. That was my first case in the High Court, and ever since that to date I continue to do these capital matters and I have not been properly compensated by the State. I have done almost 40 of these cases.
“For this year, I have done about six cases. I had the matter of Shaheed Williams, the Jahari Bart matter twice and then I went to Nevis where there was a mistrial in the Craig Halliday and Sommersal matter...and when it came on for a second time in the same assizes, successfully again I did that matter and I have not received one penny.”
The lawyer claimed that he had written letters to a number of Attorneys-General and two sitting Prime Ministers concerning the issue.
“I have written to two Prime Ministers and about four Attorneys-General trying to get proper pay. The issue is that it seems as if it is too much money for a black boy from Cayon. For instance, I charge any way between $50,000 and $75,000 for a murder case. These are life and death matters, because somebody died and a person who is on trial can get life imprisonment or could face death.
“I say that because when there is a member of Cabinet who sends a bill for cost of $1.5M for a constitutional matter where there is no life and death issue and got paid, but when my matter comes before Cabinet it is being said that $50,000 is too much for me, I get a problem.
“I have a problem because that Minister, when he gets double salary he is getting four salaries in a year, but double nothing is nothing. I am getting double of nothing.”
Hamilton stressed that some of the cases in which he was involved had lasted for years, noting that “the Craig Halliday matter that I just finished, that murder occurred in 2008. That matter started and stopped almost five times. It reached to the High Court and the matter was quashed. It was sent back down and came back up for the trial to restart. When you work that long and that hard on a matter and can’t get paid before or after you did it, it is becoming a major concern for this gentleman”.
The lawyer was asked if there were any course of legal redress that he could take, to which he emphasised that he is a lawyer and “the Government has deeper pockets than me, so what am I going to litigate against them for”?
He was also asked by the host of the programme how was he going to get the monies owed to him, and in response said: “Sometimes you have to name and shame people. Sometimes that is the only thing you can do, because why am I not being paid for work I have already done.
“My bill is reasonable! There are people who are doing similar work and have gotten hundreds of thousands of dollars. If similar work of equal value and equal pay is the name of the game, then I should be paid. I am not asking for anything that is unreasonable or unconscionable”.
He reiterated that in a constitutional matter, and not one of life and death, cost was awarded to “a lawyer of over $1.5M and it was paid by this Government”.
“I have worked on cases sometimes about two months out of my office and I haven’t charged the Government more than $25,000 for any case. And I am simply saying that I have already worked...pay me.
“I don’t see the ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ over paying me and rejecting my bill, the historic one and the present one. I have waited long enough. This is fresh start and fair share. I have been waiting for my fresh start and fair share, I can’t wait any longer,” he lamented.
Hamilton also provided reasons why he decided to go public with the issue.
“Budget is coming, double salary is coming and I am getting nothing. I need my money and I have to go to the public. The public must know that Chesley does not want to remain quiet any longer. It is wrong! And to say that somebody is intervening and somebody is looking into it, or somebody is trying to recommend something, it is wrong.
“When other people gave their bill to the Government, they got paid, when the Minister gave his $1.5M to the Government, he got paid. I am on the lower end of the table. Nobody could tell you that anybody charges less than me for similar work. It is about time that this matter be addressed and I am bringing it to the public because I don’t want people to feel that Chesley is trying to rip off the Government for something he did not do. My record speaks for itself before the court!”
He proclaimed that the current Attorney-General has been offering him monies below the stipulated amount that he charges the Government for capital matters.
“I have charged the Government for murder and manslaughter matters, capital matters, a flat rate of somewhere between $50,000 and $75,000 for these cases. And if they don’t want to pay that, don’t come and tell me about $10,000 and $15,000. That is ridiculous! That is what the AG wants to be offering and paying people; and sometimes for appeal cases $6,000 and for no case submissions as little as $3,000.”
Hamilton explained that sometimes the legal arguments he would have brought to bear on cases that the prosecution had to withdraw at certain stages, were precedent and groundbreaking work as well as researches he would have done.
To lend further credence to the reason why he should be paid what is owed to him, Hamilton made reference to some foreign members of the legal fraternity and specialists whose services the former and current Administrations had solicited.
“They brought in people from all over the world to prosecute these cases. From Trinidad, from England and they brought in QC from Antigua...and they paid them handsomely. They paid certain people up to US$35,000 to handle the cases that I am doing. They got paid and I didn’t.
“They brought in DNA specialists and paid them up to US$2,000 a day and put them up in a hotel. When you win a case in a no case submission, and sometimes the Government even has to call back these experts - pathologist, DNA expert, gun expert and all these other things – they tell you for your success you must take less rather than going to trial. If you go to trial and you lose in the appeal, you get more. That is the kind of thing the Government wants you to agree to, so they want to pay you $1,000 a day for every day that you have to go to court.”
In a passionate entreaty to the Government, the Attorney-at-Law has called to be properly compensated, while declaring that the issue has seriously imperilled his ability to honour his debts to a number of persons.
