‘Angry’ Lithur throws away documents in open court

Lead Counsel for President John Mahama in the election petition case, Tony Lithur on Wednesday May 29, 2013 went haywire in open court when he hurled off an exhibit as it was handed over to him for inspection.

Counsel for the petitioners, Philip Addison, had attempted to have the key witness for the First and Third Respondents, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, who is being cross-examined, identify the document as “the further and better particulars”, provided to the parties and the court, at the beginning of the trial.

Mr. Lithur’s flinging of the document in open court generated brief murmurings among the court audience.

His behaviour attracted the following reaction from Mr. Addison.

“My Lord this is a man who talks about respect in the Supreme Court; this kind of behaviour”.

Mr. Lithur then riposted that: “When counsel seeks to bring that kind of document to court as further and better particulars, I don’t know what kind of response he expects”.

Seeking to justify his anger and behaviour, Mr. Lithur explained: “The further and better particulars were given in volumes, indicating which paragraphs is referring to what, and it’s not just one volume; there are several volumes and the matter has already been ruled upon by this court about what the legal effect of the further and better particulars [is]; they are pleadings and the attempt to tender them was rejected earlier”.

“You are talking about respect, I beg your pardon counsel,” Mr. Lithur protested.

One of the nine Justices hearing the matter, however, took strong reservations to what he described as Mr. Lithur’s “condemnable” behaviour.

“Counsel, clearly I mean this behaviour is very much uncalled for, clearly condemnable; you know your behaviour is towards the court, you should know that”.

He said it is “clearly an affront to the court,” adding that: “…To throw the docket away was wrong”.

The President of the nine-member Bench, Justice William Atuguba, concurred with his colleague Justice by saying: “I was about to say the same thing that jettisoning of cargo is not something to be done at the bar”.

He joked that: “It’s on the high seas that when ships are in trouble that they start jettisoning cargo”.