Gora slams slack lawyers and police informants

INCOMPETENCE and lack of professionalism of lawyers and police informants have taken a toll on court proceedings, Waigani Committal Court magistrate Sinclair Gora said yesterday.
Hearing a case that was postponed from Monday, magistrate Gora made it clear to the prosecution and other lawyers present that there were court procedures to be followed and the justice system should not be disrespected.
A lawyer from a prominent law firm failed to represent his client, instructing the client to advise the committal court that he was sick.
This was the second instance of non-representation of lawyers, with the other advising his client that he had other cases at the National Court to attend to.
“For goodness sake, aren’t there any other lawyers who could communicate with the court that the lawyer is sick?” queried magistrate Gora.
“If that is the kind of justice system we have in the country, it is not a good sign.
“There need to be professional ethics, it is unbecoming of a lawyer, it is his duty to inform this court if he will not be available,” said magistrate Gora.
Magistrate Gora was concerned as no formal submissions were made by the lawyers even after the three-month period given for filing of submissions had lapsed.
Meanwhile, from the number of cases listed for the day, a total of three were struck out due to the incompetence of the police informant in filing court papers within the given timeframe.
The defendants were excused from court, with instructions to be refunded their bail.