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Panama News Briefs

High court takes a rather narrow view of "affinity"
by Eric Jackson, from other media

La Prensa's Jean Marcel Chéry has reported on an interesting case from the Panamanian court system, whose decisions and files are not ordinarily open to public inspection.

Ileana Turner, an alternate magistrate of the Second Justice Tribunal, has a son by Juan Ledezma, who's the brother of one of her colleagues, Elvia Batista, a magistrate at the same court.

One Joel Isaac González, charged with homicide, had his case assigned to Judge Batista, His lawyers, Sittón y Asociados, proposed to enter certain evidence into the file on their client's behalf. Batista denied that defense motion and González appealed.

The appeal was assigned to Judge Turner, which prompted González's attorneys to request her recusal because of her family ties to Batista. Turner brushed off that request, which in turn prompted defense counsel to file an ethics complaint with the Supreme Court.

With Magistrate Adán Arnulfo Arjona dissenting, the high court sided with Judge Turner. The decision, written by Magistrate Esmeralda de Troitiño, held that because Ileana Turner and Juan Ledezma are not married, there is no familial relationship and thus Elvia Batista is not within the legally defined degrees of affinity that would prevent Turner from hearing a case involving her. Arjona said that the child of Turner's and Ledezma's union is irrefutable proof of a familial relationship that ought to be treated the same as marriage.

Recall that in the 2004 campaign, much was made by the PRD and its Partido Popular allies of Mireya Moscoso's appointment of Winston Spadafora to the Supreme Court, because at the time Moscoso was dating Spadafora.

This latest decision is one of a long line in Panamanian jurisprudence, and in this country's political life, wherein norms about conflict of interest that apply in most other countries are shrugged off here.

Also in this section:
No canal expansion plan on the table yet, but the campaign's underway
Carnival prompts multiple political controversies
Court takes lax view on conflict of interest
Latin America's electoral bodies feeling their way
Will the Penal Code revision eliminate criminal defamation laws?
Condoleeza Rice cancels Hugo Chávez's valentine
Panama News Briefs