Institutions and the law is what matters most to Judge Miriam Germán Brito, who has behind her a highly respected career of 44 years in the judiciary. The Supreme Court of Justice judge, who is the president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, said on Wednesday, 13 March 2019 that while she could accept the “apology” from Attorney General Jean Alain Rodríguez in what has to do with her person, she could not accept it where it violated the due process nor put in danger her family’s safety. The “apology” was aired from the Presidential Palace on the evening of 12 March 2019, following a three-hour meeting of the National Council of the Magistracy.
During the “apology”, Rodríguez instead reaffirmed the accusations he had made against the judge in the 4 March public hearing where her performance as a Supreme Court of Justice was being evaluated. Experts say the depositions presented violated the National Council of the Magistracy ruling.
Judge Germán Brito in her statement also criticized that Attorney General’s subordinate Bolívar Sánchez, in his explanations on the reasons for the taping of her phone and covert surveillance actions, had released to the public her domicile and telephone, putting in danger her family. Germán Brito has an autistic son, a daughter and a grandchild. Rodríguez in his accusations had said that the evidence he presented was the result of surveillance actions.
Judge Germán Brito criticized Rodríguez’s allegations that she had put a “luxury villa” in San José de Ocoa in the name of her son, without investigating that her son and his sister had inherited the house from their late father. Attorney General Rodríguez also based allegations on the written evidence presented by a judge whose travel visa was removed by the United States government.
Judge Miriam Germán Brito has invited to a full investigation into all the allegations made by the Attorney General on 4 March 2019. The media has for the most part presented evidence the allegations were but fake news.
“I do not consider myself exempt from being questioned, but I understand that there are established forms and procedures for such questions. While I understand that Judge Rodriguez did well to abstain and apologize for his actions, it is difficult to accept an apology that justifies the actions for which he is apologizing, and one where he repeats the same actions,” said the judge in statements to the media.
During her participation at the opening of a Dominican Intellectual Property Association seminar at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), lawyer and university professor Mary Fernandez had also expressed her concern last week about the violation of the privacy of Judge Miriam Germán Brito, to whom she said all her rights had been violated in the National Council of the Magistracy, when after the presentation by the Attorney General on 4 March 2019, the judge’s telephone number, her home address and that of her family were exposed, leaving her unprotected before organized crime. As president of the Penal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, the judge handles difficult organized crime cases.
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14 March 2019