Judge Estanislao Radhames Rodríguez has accused suspended judge Awilda Reyes Beltre of mocking the court during the proceedings of the trial against Reyes Beltre. He made the observation when Reyes Beltré stepped down from the witness stand and refused to defend herself, a role which she had assumed after her assigned attorney, Tomas Castro, did not appear in court (allegedly due to health reasons). Reyes Beltré then unsuccessfully petitioned the judge for a postponement of the hearing.
When the judge accused Reyes Beltre of purposefully disrupting the hearing, she replied she was ready for the ruling to dismiss her from the judicial service, at which point her husband, Harold Echavarria, stood up to protest the proceedings. Echavarria was eventually ordered to leave the court or risk arrest.
At the same time, the judge ordered the court security not to allow Reyes Beltré to leave either.
The hearing continued with the testimony of Miguel Then who was an assistant lawyer at the court where Reyes Beltré was the judge and he confirmed that there was a disagreement between himself and Reyes Beltré, because Then felt that she should have recused herself from the hearing the appeal of the councilor for Pedro Brand municipality, Ericson de los Santos Solis. However, instead, Reyes Beltré chose to continue to preside over the hearing and eventually ordered de los Santos Solis to be freed. That decision led to criticism from the judicial system, resulting in the current disciplinary trial against Reyes Beltré.
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Listin Diario
29 March 2017
