What appears to be a support in the non-guilty judgement brought down by Judge Nelson Chinneh in favor of Lucas Richards, an American, has surfaced with Chief Justice, Sie-A-Nyene G. Youh adding her voice.
At a conference of the International Association of Judges (IAJ) on Monday, May 6, 2024, Chief Justice Youh made specific reference to the case of Jessica Lloyd and Lucas Richards when she said bloggers, social media influencers, and Facebook users as well as some media practitioners were bent on making wild allegations and tend to twist occurrences in the case against Richards after the lower court’s final judgment in the matter.
This, Justice Youh believes tends to undermine the independence of the Judiciary and judges, especially when a member of the Legislature (Moima Briggs-Mensah) joined the tale of perception.
“It is time that we change the narrative and create media contents that are well-researched and that reflect the true happenings of events in the institutions covered instead of publishing sensational stories, merely for fame and likes, or in the case of youthful Liberians, just to proof one’s relevancy, although there is none to begin with,” Youh stressed.
“The new information and digital age must be used to positively shift the impact of how society functions and it was time that said narrative is changed,” she said.
While Justice Youh noted that the justice system has many actors having a direct and indirect interest in cases, and the courts are central actors with the responsibility of upholding the rule of law, however, she added that understanding the work of the court is practically non-existent, and cannot be teachers of the law.
She said it is generally considered that the media informs, entertains and educates, therefore, it is a most powerful force of change and that with the birth of the information age, the public perception of the Justice system is being influenced by the mass media, especially in the new information age.
Addressing the conference as keynote speaker, the Chief Justice remarked that the assembly is an important one which represents a significant milestone for Liberia; as such, lauded the government for embracing said vision and ensuring the availability of funds for hosting the event.
She said that media publications have an impact on public perception of the Judiciary.
Youh expressed dismay that while scrutiny of the Judiciary by the media are crucial, some media institutions continue to use their platforms for biased and negative reporting, leading to misinformation just to maintain their readers.
She is uncomfortable that not all of those reporting have formal training in mass communications, which contributes to these negative reportage and misinformation as well as disinformation.
The Liberian Chief Justice expressed disenchantment in the manner in which some media institutions are being used to negatively discuss matters before the court when they have little or no understanding of a particular legal matter before the Judiciary.
She said those practicing before the courts in defending their clients have the responsibility to deal fairly with their clients by honestly explaining the in-depth of their case, and not creating false impression that their client’s plight lies squarely with the Judge’s description and not the law.
The conference, which brought together several judges from across Africa and the world, is expected to last for four days.
The event is held. Under the theme: “The Judiciary in the Contemporary Times: Dispensing Justice in the New International Age.”
