Court turns down Kern’s application of appeal

The Court of Appeal has ruled that the fraud trial of former junior energy minister Kern Spencer should start in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.



Mr Spencer’s lawyers wanted the trial to be postponed pending the outcome of an appeal they filed on Friday against a ruling of the Constitutional Court.



However, this morning Court of Appeal judge Dennis Morrison ordered that the trial go ahead.



In his ruling this morning, Justice Morrison said there was nothing to indicate any risk of injustice to Kern Spencer if the trial should start before a decision is handed down in the matter he’s appealing.



On Friday the Constitutional Court turned down an application by the defense attorneys for the DPP to make full disclosure on her reason for dropping fraud charges against Rodney Chin a former co-accused in the light bulb scandal.



After the Constitutional Court turned down the application, the attorneys took the matter to the Appeals Court.



On Monday, they went back to the Court of Appeal after Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey ruled that the fraud trial would start in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court.



The lawyers had sought to stall the trial, telling the Resident Magistrate that they were still awaiting the outcome of the appeal against Constitutional Court ruling.



For two days, the lawyers made submissions in the judge’s chambers in the Appeals Court as they sought to postpone the fraud trial.



So with the Court of Appeal ordering that the trial should go ahead, it was back to the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate Court this morning.



The lawyers representing the defense and the prosecution were ready to start and so too was former energy minister Phillip Paulwell, who is to take the witness stand.



Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey has ordered the parties to return at 2 pm when the matter will be heard.



Kern Spencer is on nine fraud-related charges in connection with the controversial Cuban light bulb scandal.



His former personal assistant, Colleen Wright, is on six charges.



The charges range from conspiracy to defraud to money laundering and breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.