In an unusual press conference yesterday, Wednesday 8 April 2015, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court publicly contradicted statements by Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito. Mariano German Mejia accused the Attorney General of adopting a posture that is “immature, impulsive, and disrespectful and a feature of the judicial populism for which he has become known.”
During a rapidly convened press conference, German said that Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito’s attitudes and statements have shown that he has no faith in Dominican justice. “Only someone who has no faith in it is capable of causing the sort of damage that Attorney General has.” The judge said that the Attorney General has taken part in the processes that have motivated his statements, first to the media and then to the courts.
“The highest representative of the Justice Department has ignored the fact that he participated as part of the processes which have served him as the cause which provoked his rash public statements. He has disregarded the fact that in a process whoever loses in one stage of the proceedings is only allowed to challenge the decision taken, by means of the corresponding appeal.”
German Mejia said that the appeals against the decision were aired in the court of public opinion before presenting them to the Court of Appeals. He described this attitude as totally inappropriate to the nature of the role that he plays under a constitutional mandate and the laws.
“This official has gone so far as to call for civil disobedience against the Judicial Branch. This attitude denies the essence of his role and ignores the fact that he forms part of the judicial institutionalism and of one of the Branches of the State.”
According to the head of the Judicial Branch, these attitudes and his statements have promoted social exasperation, because if the head of the Justice Department issues calls for disobedience, he cannot expect different conduct by the sectors with a propensity to ignore the established order and even from the sectors that are traditionally restrained.
http://www.suprema.gov.do/portada/detalles_noticias.aspx?IdNoticia=1055