The Tribune

By LAMECH JOHNSON

Tribune Staff Reporter

ljohnson@tribunemedia.net

A MAN fighting extradition to Florida after being accused of a woman’s manslaughter must have the records of the extradition proceedings certified before the Privy Council in London can hear his appeal.

Trent Albury, 41 and his lawyer, Maurice Glinton, QC, appeared in the Court of Appeal to update the court on whether they had complied with directives of the court when it had granted him 90 days, on April 29, to file his appeal to the Judicial Committee of this country’s highest court.

Albury is facing extradition to West Palm Beach to serve a 13-year sentence for the May 26, 2000, killing of Dawn Sheppard.

In yesterday’s hearing, Court of Appeal President Justice Anita Allen asked Mr Glinton: “What’s happened since then?”

“We’ve complied,” said Mr Glinton.

“Was an affidavit filed?” Justice Allen asked. The lawyer said his client did file one.

“Just this morning, but it was filed,” Mr Glinton added.

Justice Abdulai Conteh expressed concern that the second of two conditions attached to the 90-day leave appeared to have not been complied with.

In addition to securing a bond for the appeal, Mr Glinton and the appellant were required to prepare the record of their appeal that included the record of the proceedings in Magistrate’s Court.

Mr Glinton said that in his more than 35 years as an attorney, it was his experience that the record was usually prepared by the registrar who would send a bill to his firm for having done that work.

Justice Conteh said that would not be the case in a criminal matter.

However, Justice Allen interjected: “All I want to be satisfied about is that the conditions attached to the conditional leave to appeal were complied with.”

“And it was my understanding that the record of appeal would be dispatched by the appellant,” she added.

Mr Glinton said he acted on the practices he met in place as a young attorney appearing in the appellate court.

“When I got here, that was not the practice,” Justice Allen said.

“Your ladyship has the power to issue practice directions,” Albury’s lawyer said.

“I may do that,” Justice Allen said before asking Crown respondent Neil Braithwaite for his thoughts on the matter.

Mr Braithwaite said the interpretation of the second condition appeared to be the issue but he had no objection to an adjournment to facilitate the record being prepared.

As the 90-day deadline has yet to expire, the appellate court adjourned the matter to July 29 for a status hearing.

In October 2001, Albury was convicted of a DUI manslaughter charge when a jury rejected his defence that he unwittingly took the “date rape” drug GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) minutes before he crashed his truck into Sheppard’s minivan.

He lost his appeal and was expected to reappear to serve his 13-year sentence in March 2003.

However, Albury fled to The Bahamas where he was then arrested on a Palm Beach County warrant, and a magistrate agreed with Albury’s conviction in the United States.

Having been on remand for more than a year, Albury was released on bail pending the appeal of his extradition to the Supreme Court and later the appellate court, which upheld the ruling of the magistrate.

Albury had initially been granted leave by the Court of Appeal to appeal the approval of the extradition request to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in June 2011.

However, the case was dormant for nearly four years until April of this year when his lawyer said the court’s judgment at the time did not specify any conditions attached to the leave.