By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
LAWYER Wayne Munroe has advised his web shop clients to remain open despite Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett lifting a conservatory order yesterday that had prevented the government from shutting down their gaming operations.
The injunction was enforced shortly after the Bahamas voted against legalising and taxing the industry.
Mr Munroe has filed an appeal and a stay of execution on the decision but in the meantime said it is in the best interest of his clients for the government to shut them down, rather than them closing voluntarily.
“My advice to them was let the government make the decision and take the gamble on whether they should shut them down or leave them be until the case is heard. It is up to the government to determine what they will do now. They can interfere with my clients and shut them down, but if we are successful there will be millions of dollars in damages the government will have to pay them for revenue they lost. Money that will come out of the public purse,” he said.
“The court made a decision but they are not ordering or directing the government to do anything. The government can take a risk and take this gamble. But if they lose their bet then the public pays. My clients, in order to get a full measure of damages will have to let the government interfere with them. If they close voluntarily and they win, the government will not have to pay because they can say ‘We did not interfere with their business, they closed on their own’, but if they let the government interfere they can collect damages.”
Mr Munroe represents Island Game, Island Luck, FML, Asue Draw, Whattfall and Chances.
Attorney Alfred Sears represents Paradise Games. He declined to comment on whether his client will remain open, but did confirm they are also appealing the decision.
The Tribune attempted to contact Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade on whether or not police will be shutting down web shops but after a series of messages, calls were not returned up to press time.
Yesterday The Tribune visited five web-shops and at each location residents were either unaware of the ruling or when told of the turn of events did not seem too concerned with the matter.
One patron said that he “had better get out of the web shops now before the police arrived” while others grumbled over the government’s clamp down of the webshop industry.
Comments
ayatollah 11 years ago
Seems like a cat has the commissioner tongue
TalRussell 11 years ago
Comrade CJ Michael seems to have agreed in his ruling with those of us who have being asking why the "soft approach" by the cabinet, AG and the police in NOT moving immediately to respect the votes of the people, who want any and all illegal web shops conducting numbers selling behind their darkened windows, to have been swiftly dealt with as a criminal charge.
The CJ in his ruling delivered on Tuesday morning had this to say; "Laws ARE presumed to be valid and MUST be obeyed unless they have been adjudicated as being invalid. The police MUST be allowed to enforce the law, unless and until the law has been declared to be invalid."
Comrade Lawyer Wayne can wear his attorney's cape and tight legal briefs all he wants, when he's advising his numbers "bosses' clients, to flip the coin to remain open, and IF they're successful in the courts, to proceed to sue the living hell out of the "taxpayers," for millions of dollars. But he is also an smart enough legal brain, to have advised his clients of the severe consequences of the other side of the coin, reminding them of the saying that goes; "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time?"
Likewise, isn't it also a big gamble for any employer to knowingly place their employees at risk of criminal prosecution?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SivUT1...">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SivUT1...
concernedcitizen 11 years ago
this is all a big show ,,PGC was counting on a yes vote ,,,,numbers will remain they already paid to stay open ,,this is just one damm expensive show
John 11 years ago
THE LEGAL QUESTION is what law allows Casinoes (gambling) to remain open and operate in the Bahamas whilst Web Shops(gambling) must close? If the only criteria is that the question of licensing web shops was taken to public opinion and defeated, while the question of granting casino licenses was determined at the cabinet level, then to put all patries involved (casino operators and web shop operators) on an equal footing, either the question of casinos operating in the Bahamas should be taken to referundum or the decision to grant licences to web shops should be made at cabinet level. WHEN A GOVERNMENT HAS TO RELY ON PUBLIC OPINION TO MAKE DECISIONS, THEN IT HAS LOST ITS ABILITY TO GOVERN!
JohnDoe 11 years ago
The one thing you can say about Mr. Munroe, is that he has never seen a microphone that he did not want to grab and speak into. If he ever finds the time to exhibit a similar focus in preparing for his cases, he may win one sometime soon. After the amateur case they put on and the stern rebuke by the CJ, they should refund the webshop guys their money and hold their heads down in shame. Don't get me wrong, there is a significant amount of politics driving these statements from Munroe, but if he and his clients continue with their misguided strategy they are likely to further isolate and expose PC so much that it would become political suicide for him to intercede on their behalf.
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