US-based Ghanaian law Professor Kwaku Asare has disagreed with Chief Justice Kwasi Anin-Yeboah’s assertion that cases in the trial courts should be called based on the seniority of the lawyer.
In a circular issued by the CJ, trial Judges were admonished to adhere to the tradition of calling the cases of senior lawyers first.
According to the CJ, the age-long tradition of calling the cases of senior lawyers first during trials will afford junior lawyers the opportunity to learn from their seniors.
Reacting to the directive from the CJ however, the US-based law professor noted that: “Parties must be treated equally in our courts.”
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He emphasized that: “The practice of giving preferences to senior lawyers, by calling their cases first, can quickly degenerate into giving more weight to what they say, giving them more time, paying less attention to junior lawyers, etc.
“Furthermore, it sends a signal to clients that if you want your case to move quickly in our courts, then you better hire a senior lawyer.”
He further noted that: “I do not accept that junior lawyers should go to the courtroom to learn from senior lawyers. They go there to defend their clients and judges are to presume that they know what they are doing once they have been called to the Bar.”
He added that good governance does not agree with the CJ that “trial courts should call cases based on the seniority of the lawyer.
“That idea is as bad as requiring all prospective lawyers to go to the same government school to learn evidence and family law.”