Cllr. Scott Lawyers Pray Court To Denied Doctor & Physician Assistant Testified In Charloe Musu Trial -As Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie Reserved Ruling By: Yassah J Wright

In the late Charloe Musu murder Saga involving former Chief Justice of Liberia, Gloria Musu-Scott and others, defendants lawyers has prayed to the court to denied Prosecution application. One of the Counsels for Prosecution applies the Criminal Court “A” that their Subpoenaed Witness in person of the Medical Doctor that announced the deceased dead is within the bailiwick of the Court. However, this Witness had earlier indicated to Prosecution that the physician assistant that works under him is the one that saw the victim and what he did essentially was that, he signed the death certificate because said certificate cannot be signed by one that is not a Medical Doctor. Consequently, the physician assistant in question is on his way to this Honorable Court so as to be qualified, sworn and testified for and on behalf of the Prosecution. Accordingly, the Medical Doctor will then take the stand to confirm the signature on the death certificate. Prosecution most respectfully requests Your Honor to kindly permit/allow a respite of about 30 to 45 minutes so as to afford the opportunity for the physician assistant mentioned supra to be present in the bailiwick of this Court.  Counsel says that this request or application is not made in bad fate and is henceforth not intended to delay these proceedings unnecessarily.  Additionally, it has been brought to the attention of the prosecution that the Medical Doctor that is supposed to appear before Your Honor  to take the witness stand cannot communicate fluently in English as he is a French speaking professional.  Prosecution therefore requests Your Honor and this Honorable Court to contact the Foreign Ministry for an interpreter to be sent to this honorable Court to aid in the taking of the testimony of the Medical Doctor, since in fact and indeed he does not speak English satisfactorily. However, the Defense in resisting to the application made by the Prosecution said that the application is made in bad fate and therefore same should be denied, suamoto. The Defense says that as to the application that the Medical Doctor that signed the Death Certificate did not attend to the deceased but rather it was the physician assistant. Defendants’ lawyers pointed out that the Medical Certification of cause of death issued by the National Public Health Service, Redemption Hospital averse as follows: “I Dr. Guilavagui Mamady hereby certify that I have medically attended to the above deceased and that the particulars and the cause of death are true to the best of my knowledge and belief”.  The Defense Team stated that the Certificate that says he attended to the deceased and the Prosecution averment that he never attended to the deceased are intra-contradictory and therefore the application must be denied and dismissed. They argued that if the Doctor as to the words of Prosecution that did not attend to the deceased but issued a Certification that he was the one that attended to the deceased is clearly intended to mislead the trial jurors and the Honorable Court; hence, the application should be denied. Defense says that it is a principal in Medical Practice that the Medical Doctor or a physician that attended to a person observing the function of the brain, the heartbeat will be the one to sign the cause of death of that person and the Doctor who did not attend to the deceased but issued a certificate that he attended to the deceased cannot be the one to testify before this Court. Defense lawyers prayed to the court that the application made by Prosecution should be denied and dismissed.   “The Doctor must be dispensed with for misleading the facts finders and the Court and must be dispensed with as a matter of law” the Defense team stressed.  Moreover Defense lawyers the purported attended physician who said to have attended to the deceased contrary to the records available to this Court cannot be the one to testify to same since there are records to the contrary.  They furthered said the list of witnesses submitted to them, the Defense Team, the purported physician assistant whose name is not named in Prosecution application, same must be denied and quashed and refused.

Defense said that the law says the only witness that will testify is the witness that the Prosecution did not know nor have reason to have known and had have reason to never would have known up to the time of trial is that witness that will come and testify not someone in their full knowledge to testify that they attend to the deceased. The Defense Team most respectfully requests the Judge to deny and dismiss the application made by Prosecution for the reasons stated above, principally for Dr. Mamady to have mislead the fact finders that he attended to the deceased when the Prosecution’s lawyer says he did not but rather the purported physician assistant whose name is not named to the Defense Team and grant our resistance and any other relief that in the eyes of compelling justice will obtain in this case. After Criminal Court “A” Judge Roosevelt Z Willie, had listened to the arguments of the parties, he reserved ruling and will also order the Clerk to subpoena the authority of the Liberia Medical and Dental Association/Council to appear in Court to provide evidence on the processes as it relates to issuing of Death Certificate from the hospital. Judge Willie said the Liberia Medical and Dental Association/Council come to clarify whether that deceased person was seen by medical personnel that is not a Medical Doctor. He the communication will be issued out of this Court on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, and one of the authorities of the Liberia Medical and Dental Association/Council will appear in this Court, with all parties being present and it is hereby so ordered.  The State was represented as per records Present in Court are the following lawyers: Cllr. Bobby W. Livingstone, Director for Financial Crimes, Ministry of Justice, Cllr. J. Adolphus Karnoua, II, Director for Civil Litigation of the Ministry of Justice, and Atty. Randolph D. M. O Johnson Cllr. Sumo Kutu Akoi, to be joined by Cllr. Swaliho Sesay, Acting County Attorney for Montserrado County, and Atty. J. Dexter Pieyoue.  Prosecution said that they are in Court and by leave of Court to spread a submission after parties representations are noted and submits.  While the Defendants continued to be represented as per records with the following counsels present to be joined by all other counsels of records. Those present include: Cllr. Augustine C. Fayiah, Cllr. Amara Sheriff, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, Cllr. Dr. S. Mohammed Sheriff, and Cllr. Richard J. Scott, Jr. Counsel says that they are in Court and ready to proceed. And respectfully submit.