Santo Domingo.- The head of the Justice Ministry’s Anti-MoneyLaundering Dept. on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to regulate, so neither contractedjudges nor justices of the Peace hear cases of organized crime.
Germán Miranda said the courts are suffering from “a judicialdisease” administratively against which a quick fix we must be sought,"because if the interim judges’ indulgence is left to nest, we’re fucked!"
The official referred to the case of drug traffickingdefendants Erick Jose Perez and Elizabeth Reynoso, who were initially sent to pretrialdetention but San Cristobal Appealte Court interim judges released them on RD$1.0million bond.
When asked if their release sparked suspicious, Miranda saidhe’s suspicious about how the court that granted bond was formed, since the suspectssmuggled 333.13 kilos of cocaine. “It was formed on a Friday and the JusticeMinistry was notified after 6pm, and on Monday it began the hearing earlierthan in any other national jurisdiction.”
"That doesn’t look so normal; it seems as controlled insteadfor the reasons and purposes of those who’re behind this action," theprosecutor said and stressed that the defendants were sent to one year pretrialdetention and file for an appeal within just 15 days, “and interim judgesappear out of nowhere to overturn it."
He reiterated the need for career judges to preside over casesof organized crime, "to avoid the problem of the interplay among justicesof the Peace and even people who are contracted, who aren’t judges, or whoknows.”
Special Tribunal
Miranda said a Special Court should hear such cases, andthat drastic penalties levied against judges not only in San Cristobal’s case,but also in courts of La Romana, Higuey and Santiago the province of, where he affirmssuch scandals also occur often.