Carol Peralta said that there were ‘MPs from both sides of the house’ at his courtroom party. But read this.
Times of Malta reports (and what a pretty picture of the law courts this paints):
Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi said this afternoon that he had stumbled upon a party in the courtroom of Magistrate Carol Peralta when he accompanied a police inspector to the magistrate’s hall to look for Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera over a court case which was due to be heard.
Dr Azzopardi said he went there at about noon (when the party was starting) and was only there for three to four minutes.
He explained that he had received a call from Inspector Jurgen Grech as there was an accused who wanted him to represent him. When he went to Magistrate Scerri Herrera’s courtroom, the inspector told him that she was in Hall 3, Magistrate Peralta’s courtroom and they went there together to inform her that the case could be heard as he had arrived.
During that time he saw 12 to 15 people including Magistrates Peralta and Consuelo Scerri Herrera and a number of police officers. There was food on the Bench. The court bailiff offered him a whisky, which he refused.
At the time he did not see anyone smoking. (Eyewitnesses accounts tallied with Dr Azzopardi’s account in that the party started ‘civilly’ and then progressed into a full-blown party with some of the guests being tipsy. Many of those who were present at the start were not there between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.).
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131220/local/nationalist-mp-says-he-was-at-peralta-party-for-a-few-minutes.499851#.UrS03rB3sdU
In other words, Jason Azzopardi was not a guest at all, but somebody who went in to look for Magistrate Herrera to call her back to her proper business. Four hours later, the party was still on and had got out of hand. No one stays at a party where drinks or food are not served.
Naghmillek, whisky? And the bar is the courtroom bench.
“Naghmillek, whisky? And the bar is the courtroom bench.”
Dr. Toni Abela, Deputy Leader tal-MLP fl-Awla kien jonqos, u kien jaghmillu whisky on the rocks.
And the Court Bailiff – the barman – is a government employee. So the police serve as waiters, the Court bailiffs tend bar … who clears up after?
B’xi blokka silg jew tnejn, jekk joghgbok.
Or whisky with white blocks.
These Labour folk are expendable, regardless of being amateurs as MPs.
Hall 3 at the courts will from now on be renamed as the “Peralta Bar.”
That’s a good one Ciccio, I second that.
Do we know who were the Labour MPs who attended the Peralta party?
Have they issued a clarification to explain the reasons for their presence in that courtroom during the party?
Although I have no doubt that many parts of the judicial system need to be reformed, I feel that Joseph Muscat’s trumpeting of the reform being proposed is nothing but a cop-out, especially when it comes to punishing misbehaving magistrates and judges.
With the proposed reform, practically no magistrate or judge will ever face the embarrassment of a possible impeachment. Also, no government will have to face the awkward situation of trying to impeach a member of the judiciary.
Let’s face it; it takes serious boldness to try and impeach a member of the judiciary, especially when one knows that two-thirds of the House needs to vote in favour. Eddie Fenech Adami and Lawrence Gonzi only tried impeaching members of the judiciary because they were men of true conviction. You simply cannot imagine Joseph Muscat doing the same. The reform is just a cop-out. Joseph Muscat is hiding behind the reform, talking about it instead of talking directly about the Carol Peralta scandal. Incidentally, why hasn’t any journalist yet asked him point blank whether he thinks that Carol Peralta should be impeached?
I, for one, think that the punishment system being proposed is not adequate. As a humble citizen of Malta, I have the right to take the prime minister to court over any issue. A judge has the right and duty to preside over anyone, even the prime minister, and has to judge fairly. This means that a judge has to be way above everyone. A judge, any judge, simply has to be PERFECTION PERSONIFIED. No ifs, no buts, no maybes and no half measures, only excellence will do. If a judge cannot provide excellence, s/he should get the hell out of the court-room. Judges and magistrates who fail to meet such high standards should be done away with, period.
Nobody will say it out loud but I will. It’s particularly a cop-out for Joseph Muscat because this half-baked punishment measure will invariably favour Labour magistrates and judges. They are the worst and the most corrupt. No person of good judgement would ever vote Labour. If the world functioned on common sense and fair judgement only, no person who votes Labour would ever be allowed to be part of the judiciary. Voting Labour means that either you have terrible judgement capabilities or you’re an utter sleazeball.
One other issue: This might sound minor but it does show what kind of people we are dealing with here. A court-room is hardly a very nice pace to hold a party. It’s like a teacher holding a party in a classroom or a scientist holding a party in the laboratory, BORING. Couldn’t they rent a private room in a bar for the afternoon? What cheapskates. Ara vera Laburisti. And what’s more? They didn’t even bother getting some ashtrays and napkins. According to The Times of Malta report, there were cigarette butts all over the floor and spilt drinks all over the tables. It sounds very much like a każin tal-banda party. I bet they even drank from plastic cups.
Would you trust a judge who drinks his whisky from a plastic cup? I’m sure H.P Baxxter would have something to say about that.
Yes I do. Parties have been held in other places. Perhaps not as exotic as laboratories, but just as convenient. And by soi-disant scientists too.
You may gather from my irate reply that the end of the year is approaching. As I take stock of this miserable year, I see nothing but the strong trampling over the weak, the corrupt ruling over everyone, and the triumph of ignorance, stupidity, cupidity and evil.
And no one will speak out. Let me pre-empt any season’s greetings from my apple-polishing acquaintances who think they’re my friends. They can all go to hell.
Hear hear ! Well said Matthew S .
Since I know little about the full details of Freemasonry, and since my research, and experience, with it is dated, I decided to first update with a read of what Wiki had to say on the position of “Worshipful Master,” since a comment was written on that being a title and position belonging to Magistrate Carol Peralta.
I did find this detail pertinent and of interest:
“A Freemason makes a further obligation, before being made Master of his Lodge, to pay a proper respect to the civil magistrates.[107] ”
I would say there is a link between the two titles Worshipful Master Magistrate Peralta holds, but that respect does not play a part.
In particular, activities of his lodge, at which there is also the involvement of certain Strickland – not Stricklandian – members, were long since ill-reputed.
There cannot be the same considerations for Freemasonry in the Maltese law courts that were accorded to members of the British Judiciary, should that be the fall-back precedent taken into account.
There should be no wavering on the point of whether Magistrate Peralta was or was not a Freemason: He was.
Dr Fenech Adami was perfectly correct in his assessment.
Magistrate Peralta’s way of sticking up a finger to the system?
Decadent, amoral, immoral, despicable, arrogant, unscrupulous, unfeeling…Peralta should be impeached forthwith, irrespective of what the Commission may recommend.
This whole incident seems to be nothing but a little misunderstanding.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_(law)
Glad Jason Azzopardi had the decency to explain his two-minute presence unlike the government MPs. No dedication, no focus, no values, unethical, Labour that is. Oh, and a bunch of crap too.
The motto ”Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of your law” comes in mind.
Magistrate Carol Peralta, unknowingly, has given a Christmas present to Twitting Joe. The PM is definitely content with this situation since it divert the attention from his recent failures and undemocratic and immoral decisions, namely:
a) alienation from the Sale-of-Passports-Shame-Scheme
b) alienation from the fact that a friend of his family has been promoted through 4 ranks in the AFM within 8 months.
c) alienation from the fact that he returned from Brussels with an empty basket when in October he had given an ultimatum to the EU states on immigration.
It is like a page taken out from a book I read a few years ago: Cose di Cosa Nostra.
Does no one rermember parties held in the classroom?
[Daphne – David, do us all a favour and go get yourself a stiff drink and a sprig of holly.]
I always wanted to know the true meaning of that non-sensical expression “called to the bar”, or something similar sounding. Thanks for the update.
Maybe this will now be changed to “called to the bar bl-appetizers”?
You need to see what goes on in other Government Christmas parties, with high ranking public officials. The best is to stay away, to ensure that you aren’t compromised.