‘Rulings for sale’ judge resigns with ‘perverts’ parting shot

Santo Domingo.- The suspended judge in the “rulings for sale” scandal,  Awilda Reyes on Thursday announced her resignation from the bench in the National District Court 4th Penal Chamber.

She said the decision would prevent the Judicial Council from imposing any measure in the disciplinary trial against her, which is pending a ruling.

“I am hanging the robe as a judge, but I will never hang my dignity. It is the only legacy that I have for my children who, astonished, have suffered in my arms is against the outrage, the ignominy and the excesses of the overwhelming Power exhibited by the pharaoh Mariano Germán Mejia (Supreme Court Chief justice) who without any merit as a judge came to dismantle which career judges had made progress in Dominican justice,” Reyes said, quoted by diariolibre.com.

“The judicial circus presented to the country the day before yesterday by the Judiciary Council in the disciplinary trial followed against me laid bare the collapse of the country’s justice in the Dominican Republic.”

“I am going to the gallows, my resignation disables the Judicial Branch Council, but Mariano Germán will instruct for me to be convicted in the criminal trial. He has vowed not to retire until he resends me to jail,” she said.

The Judiciary Council on Wednesday announced it will hand down the ruling on the case against the judge at a date to be notified in the next few days.

Odebrecht

Regarding the Odebrecht scandal, Reyes said that the “structure” that operates from a law firm with some of Odebrecht defenders among them, has promised impunity to one of the defendants, and incriminate her in the pending criminal proceedings. “That started this week, but I’ll tell you something, I will defend myself from everybody, one by one as knights, and all together as perverts.”