by Alva Suckoo, MLA

Members of the Legislature must respect the separation of powers between the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.

In particular, we cannot make public comments which may prejudice a matter that is under investigation and/or in the courts.

Politicians do not have the liberty to make comments in a purely personal capacity as the average citizen can, and everything we say will be subject to a higher level of scrutiny and weight.

For example, if someone was under investigation and I made comments publicly with regard to that persons guilt, and the general public (potential jurors) read or heard those comments. Whether the general public was influenced by my comments or not is irrelevant, the individual could make a claim that they cannot have a fair trial because I contaminated the jury pool.

This would have many potential consequences including giving the person a possible defence.

So what do you think is best for a serving politician to do when these issues come up? Allow the investigate to proceed with no perception of interference ? Or make public comments that may help the accused ?

I am sure that if I did the latter and prejudiced the investigation the persons who encouraged me to speak publicly would then turn their anger on me for political interference or worse.

We live in a society of rules and laws and these must be respected. It would be negligent and irresponsible for me to do otherwise.

There is a time for everything, the present moment calls for patience and level heads and prudent decisions.

I am no stranger here, you know me and where I stand on most issues, most importantly you know I was chosen for public office because people considered me to be a responsible, fair and honest person fit for office and they trusted me to make wise decisions.

Nothing has changed! Rest assured I will always try to do the right thing.

#onelove #countryfirst #Caymanislands #sheissupported