In this newsroom, we get press releases throughout the day - and sometimes on weekends. But, we've never gotten one at 12:30 am on a Friday. But that's what came in this morning from the Registrar of the Supreme Court under the subject heading "urgent". It seems our story last night on court scheduling around Chief Justice Louise Blenman caused some disturbance in the top tiers of the High Court - and the CJ was pressed to correct the narrative, and in a hurry.
As we correctly reported, the bar association received a notice earlier this week saying "some of the High Court matters scheduled over the course of the remaining two weeks of this session may be postponed due to extenuating circumstances."
The wholesale adjournment of matters before several judges was reportedly caused by Chief Justice Blenman's decree that each judge prepare detailed end-of-year reports for her to present early next year. That could be her last report on the court's affairs as the Chief Justice is - we are reliably informed - positioning herself for a seat on the CCJ when a vacancy arises next year.
Well, the release does not contradict what we reported - but confirms the directive did not come from the Chief Justice and immediately reverses it. Forced to take the fall is Registrar of the Senior Courts, Trienia Young. The notice says she "wishes to indicate to the Bar Association and its members that no instruction was given by the Chief Justice of Belize...for the closure of the High Courts leading up to the close of the Legal Year 2024...It is categorically stated that all High Court matters before the respective Justices of the High Court will proceed as per schedule and that the Belize Senior Court will continue its daily function. The Registrar apologizes for any inconvenience caused by the previous communication with the Bar Association."
