MONROVIA, Montserrado – Members of the Liberian Senate are expected to vote today on the impeachment of Associate Justice Kabineh Ja’neh, after lawyers representing the interests of both the embattled justice of the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives ended their final arguments into the trial on Thursday.

Ja’neh has been before the Liberian Senate for an impeachment trial since February, after a bill of impeachment against him was submitted to the Senate by the House of Representatives. The submission of the bill followed a decision of 49 members of the House of Representatives who voted to have him impeached.

He is being tried on four count charges, including the acquisition of an illegal property prior to becoming a Supreme Court Judge, illegal acquisition of minutes of the House of Representatives, and denying the government of US$27 million intended to fund road projects in the country while serving as justice-in-chambers. Ja’neh denied all the charges.

As Friday was reserved for the final ruling into the trial by members of the Senate who are the jurors in the case, lawyers representing the House of Representatives on Thursday urged the senators to vote in favor all four counts brought against the defendant.

Prosecuting lawyer Wilkins Wrights, who is also a former associate justice of the Supreme Court, in his final statement, told the senators that if they voted to acquit Justice Ja’neh, it would be a slap in the face of the Judiciary, and it would put the Supreme Court’s bench into a serious mess. Wrights stressed that the decision of the senators will determine the future direction of the country’s democracy.

However, Ja’neh’s defense lawyer maintained that every action taken by Ja’neh while serving as justice-in-chamber at the time was done in line with the Liberian constitution and that he committed no wrong that warrants his impeachment from the Supreme Court’s bench.

Retired Supreme Court Justice Phillip Banks, who served as expert witness for the defense on the constitution’s provision for impeachment, had also termed the legislature’s decision to impeach and try Justice Kabineh Ja’neh as unconstitutional and warned that it could be challenged in court.

Banks said Article 43 of the Liberian constitution calls for the legislature to prepare the rules that govern impeachment trials for all public officials in the country, but he said such was not done in the case involving the current impeachment trial.

It is still not clear how the votes would be taken, but at least nine members of the Senate have issued a statement distancing themselves from any decision to impeach the associate justice because they believe the action would be a gross violation of the constitution.

Gbarpolu’s Senator Daniel Naatehn, who read the statement on behalf of the group of senators, said the legislature failed to prescribe a defined procedure for impeachment prior to the trial, thus making Ja’neh’s possible impeachment illegal.

“We, the undersigned senators of the 54th legislature of the Republic of the Liberia, have decided and resolved, that we cannot, shall not, and do not support the impeachment trial now underway at the Senate, which exercise is aimed at a possible removal from office of his Honor Kabineh M. Ja’neh, associate justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia, because the trial is being held in gross violation of the Liberian Constitution,” Naatehn read.

“It is incontrovertibly established that the legislature, as defined in Article 29, has not prescribed any such procedure for impeachment proceeding against the president, vice president, chief justice, associate justices of the Supreme Court, and judges of subordinate courts of records.”

The statement said Ja’neh has also not fallen short of the requirements for his position by any proven crimes that warrant his impeachment, according to Article 71 of the constitution, such as proved misconduct, gross breach of duty, inability to perform or conviction in the court of law for treason, bribery, or other crimes.

According to the senators, Article 73 of the constitution also notes that no judicial official shall be summoned, arrested, detained, prosecuted, or tried civilly or criminally by the instance of any person or authority for performing his duty, such as rendering judicial opinions.

“No such statements made or acts done shall be admissible into evidence against them at any trail or proceeding,” the statement further disclosed. “And Article 21 (a) forbids the legislature from enacting any bill of attainder or ex-post facto law.”

They alleged that the impeachment of Ja’neh was negatively influenced by the chairman of the Senate’s committee on judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petition, Bomi’s Senator Varney Sherman, who they also called on to resign as chair of the committee in order to save himself from any further embarrassment.

“As it is now public knowledge that the Senate position in this matter is constitutionally faulty, flawed, ill-advised, and as result of confidence betrayed and appears to be designed to serve as selfish interest,” the senators also noted.

Other members of the group of nine senators who promised not to vote in the impeachment are Margibi’s Senator Oscar A. Cooper, Grand Bassa’s Sen. Nyonblee Karnga-Lawrence, River Gee’s Sen. Commany Wesseh, Bomi’s Sen. Sando D. Johnson, Bong’s Sen. Henrique Tokpa, Lofa’s Sen. Steve Zargo, and Maryland’s Sen. J. Gbleh-bo Brown.

Featured photo by Zeze Ballah