Rights Groups Seek Revocation Of Judge Cianeh Clinton-Johnson’s Nomination Source: IPNEWS

 Rights and advocacy groups for the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, with purpose to end impunity and vindicate the rights of victims in Liberia, have criticized the nomination of Cianeh Clinton-Johnson as Associate Justice of the Honorable Supreme Court, arguing that her seating will  undermine the objectives  of the establishment of the expected War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia. The groups have then called on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai to consider withdrawing said nomination as same is untimely and not in the best interest of the country. Representatives of various such groups   over the weekend strongly argued that the nomination of Judge Clinton-Johnson, wife of former Justice Minister, Cllr. Lavala Koboi Johnson of Charles G. Taylor’s regime, as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Bench, is not feasible at this time and will certainly strengthen the hands of would- be indictees for War and Economic Crimes. They argued further that the now nominee is and can’t be the best suited for the highly prestigious and influential post of Associate Justice, in the face of the immense soon be achieved fight against impunity by President Boakai’s establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia. The rights and advocacy groups through their respective representatives insisted that Clinton-Johnson’s seating on the high court’s bench would compromise the Justice System, strengthen the arms of war and economic crimes perpetrators under the Taylor regime and undermine the very aims and objectives for the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court. These right activists and groups condemned the President’s nomination of Judge Clinton-Johnson and called on the President to respectfully withdraw such nomination, claiming that the move is not in the best interest of the nation and people. Moreover, they called on the President to note that gathering from their advocacy records of the violation of the rights of pretrial detainees with courts within and surrounding Montserrado County, judge  Clinton-Johnson is on record for denying rape suspects, 99% of whom are males, access to justice, due to her failure to have ably proceeded with the trial and conclusion of their matters, as she sat as Resident Circuit Judge of  Criminal Court “E” for Montserrado County, thereby contributing highly to the now situation of prison over-crowdedness at the Monrovia Central Prison and must not be elevated for these wrongs. They attributed her violation of the rights of pretrial detainees to her inability to successfully try cases, and insisted that she doesn’t legally know much as is required to ascending on the Supreme Court’s Bench, and further insisted that from her records of proceedings from courts she had served, Judge Clinton-Johnson has absolutely nothing to offer on the Supreme Court’s Bench, as the Bench is already compounded with Case on appeal and needs an experienced legal practitioner, very versed in the laws, practice and procedure to fill the vacancy and instantly aid the court in the expeditious hearing of matters before the court on appeal, which the now nominee for the post cannot do. Therefore, they called on  President Boakai to immediately withdraw her nomination as maintaining same would mean reverting to ‘business as usual,’ which the President assured Liberians will not be the case under his watch. They insisted further that nomination to such high office must be on the merits of the nominee’s past performances, which they claimed is not the case with this nominee for Associate Justice and must  be withdrawn.