This afternoon, we spoke via Zoom with his attorneys, Hector Guerra and Leslie Mendez. Here's what they had to say on the importance of the successful appeal made by Sears:
Leslie Mendez - Attorney for Hillaire Sears
"From the orders that we have right now, which is an order agreeing with us that he is right, so personal liberty was breached. Well, we can surmise from there that the court is in agreement that Hillaire did have the right to be heard before his parole was revoked. And so the Court has ordered that he be released forthwith."
Hector Guerra - Attorney for Hillaire Sears
"The court did not grant or grant Mr. Hillier, any damages, but it agreed that he should be given his costs for the appeal before the CCJ and for all the matters below. Really, what this decision is, is a vindication of Mr. Sears' right to due process, to be heard, and it emphasizes the point that the revocation of parole should be reserved for grave offenses under the conditions of a licensee. It's not a decision that should be arrived at lightly. And so it's a vindication of Mr. Sears is right. In terms of his release, that is currently being organized. He is to be released on the conditions that were attendant to his freedom back before he was before his parole was revoked. So, it's basically a reversion to the status quo before he was put back in prison."
Leslie Mendez
"Obviously, parole is a privilege, but you have to unpack what you mean by that. And when the Supreme Court made its decision - I mean, respectfully - I thought that that was - it put parolees in a position that was quite, you know, dangerous. To say that you can be re-incarcerated without being given even an opportunity to make your case, to apologize, maybe to explain or even deny that you breached the condition. That really put them in a very vulnerable position. It does appear that there's now a recognition that it's not that parole is not a status that's at large and that the decision-making process, simply because it's a privilege, does not mean that there can be arbitrariness in the decision-making process."
Sears is expected to be re-released on parole as soon as the formal paperwork is completed. In addition, the court has ordered that the Government submit a report on just how long he has spent in jail.
