Court wants answers for ‘11th-hour’ motions in Fahie case

Justice Kathleen Williams has directed prosecutors to submit a summary outlining the “substance” and meaning of the aspects of foreign law matters mentioned in their recent motion, filed before the court in preparation for the upcoming trial of former premier Andrew Fahie.

Fahie’s trial begins on January 8 and he faces charges of drug smuggling, money laundering and racketeering. The charges allege that the former Premier was involved in a drug and money laundering scheme, set up to traffic tonnes of cocaine shipments through the BVI.

According to Justice Williams, prosecutors filed a Notice of Foreign Law Determination on December 19, 2023 — just 21 days before the trial was scheduled to commence.

However, she pointed out that there was a need for the US government to make certain issues clear. In a paperless order, Judge Williams wrote that the government should identify the expert referenced in its notice, and provide underlying credentials and a list of cases where the experts have testified.

Fahie’s defence attorney, Theresa Van Vliet, previously objected to what she described as the prosecution’s ‘eleventh-hour’ motions and asked that the court dismiss them. Van Vliet contended at the time that the motion raised crucial issues for the first time, including the intention to present expert testimony and seek a jury instruction on foreign law.

In the process, the attorney commented on the practical challenge posed by the late notice and argued that the defence team would now be compelled to locate and engage legal experts to address the prosecution’s motions.

In response to the judge’s order, the prosecution said elements of the foreign laws to be introduced in the trial have been included in its proposed jury instructions filed on December 29, 2023.

In the jury instructions, the prosecution highlighted that “specified unlawful activity”, such as conspiracy to import and export cocaine and bribery, as described in charges against Fahie, were defined by laws in both the United States and the British Virgin Islands.

The prosecution further noted that it intended to provide the names and credentials of the experts it wants to introduce to the court by tomorrow, January 3.