That Carol Peralta faced impeachment should have been, and should certainly now be, an essential part of every news story about him
Magistrate Carol Peralta faced impeachment by parliament under prime minister Fenech Adami in the early 1990s. One of the reasons was the fact that he was and possibly still is a Freemason. He was at the time a member of the Leinster Lodge which met at Villa Blye in Paola.
The other reasons, which I would say are more significant still, were alleged crimes of violence against a woman and forcing her to abort his child.
These facts should be part of every news story about him. It is because they are not, because possibly even today’s reporters never knew or have forgotten, that this man has been allowed to get away with so much.
So much for the tick-tock clock.
Here’s more background. Carol Peralta wasn’t a Mintoffian. He switched to rooting for the Labour Party back then in the early 1990s out of anger at the attempt to have him impeached, which turned into hatred for the Nationalist Party.
Why was he appointed to the bench at all, by the incoming Nationalist government of the late 1980s? He was handpicked by Guido de Marco, who was the Minister for Justice and the Police.
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Freemason and judge? Now that makes a lot of sense.
The MLP is definitely doing one thing right ; for the past few years it has served as a trash can for all the vermin crawling out of the PN woodwork, like JPO, Franco Debono, Peralta etc. My only problem would be if it suddenly decided to adopt a re-cycling policy.
[Daphne – That’s exactly what it has done.]
Quick Calculation: take the average age of Maltese newspapers’ journalists/reporters, deduct 23 years (2013-1990) and I get a feeling that the result is either zero or very close to it. As the trend among youngsters, whatever happened before their birth doesn’t count.
Well said mm.
But I also believe that journalists are too scared to report out of self preservation and I don’t blame them to a certain extent.
Judges cannot be freemasons?
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2002/09/29/t2.html
Wahhalulu Joey.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2002/11/03/t1.html
Perhaps your readers / ‘jounralists’ should be reminded of this article on Malta Today in 2002. http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2002/09/29/t2.html
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/2002/09/29/t2.html
Il-hama li hareg dax-xahar ilna ma naraw bhalu.
Tiftakru meta Karm Mifsud Bonnici kien il-bniedem li kulhadd ried inehhi? Jien ghadni sal-llum ma fhimtx ghalfejn.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2013-12-20/news/magistrate-calls-press-conference-will-he-resign-3505094658/
Holding everyone by their seat, so he panders to both sides of the house, he said.
AD’s statement couldn’t be more succint. What’s the real power in this blighted republic?
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/courtandpolice/Government-asks-Justice-Commission-to-investigate-Magistrate-s-actions-20131219
‘…Peralta refused to answer as to whether he was still a freemason – he was formerly a member of the Leinster Lodge – saying it was not illegal, and that ample court judgements existed saying that there was no conflict between him being a freemason and a member of the judiciary….’
Which court, some hick shack in Nebraska?
Anything else is superfluous, this fellow must be removed, or anyone truly free can, and should, refuse to appear before this mason.
I definitely would.
Perhaps the lodge could express their wish to avoid going down Propaganda 2’s route.
Meantime,
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20131220/local/new-picnic-area-inaugurated.499837
http://www.timesofmalta.com/mobile/view/20110905/local/gas-firing-power-station-remains-government-aim-gonzi.383453
What did Leo actually do when we know that the park was ready near Smellimara last year? By his standards it should be closed.
Just read this on Simon Busuttil’s page: “The Nationalist Party has just declared it would support an impeachment motion against Magistrate Carol Peralta.”
Thank God we have a professional Opposition, else the country would be a dozen times worse.
From the Times:
“(Magistrate Peralta had in the early 1990s faced an impeachment motion for being a freemason, but it was dropped when he declared he was the lawyer of the freemason lodge and not a freemason.)
Asked today whether he was a member of a Freemason lodge, the magistrate said he would not reply. However he pointed out that there were various judgements even at the European Court of Human Rights, which said that there was nothing illegal about freemasonry and there was nothing wrong with members of the judiciary being Freemasons.”
Judge Giovanni Bonello was one who voted against freemasons being in the judiciary, he remained flabbergasted when his fellow judges voted against his honest and upright vote.
Peralta’s “no reply” is an indicator that he may be a freemason.
As a magistrate he cannot lie and as a freemason he cannot denounce his membership in the society with secrets.
Being a member of the Olympic committee is not OK, being the president of the Basketball Association is not OK , being a member of a band club is not OK, so it follows that being a member of a freemasons’ lodge should not be OK either.
When Guido de Marco was president he wrote a handbook about the ethics of the Maltese judiciary, but he missed out writing about the glaring conflict of interest in the case of judges being freemasons.
That’s a shame.
Years back he also gave a show of arrogance at the Casualty Dept St Luke’s Hospital when on one occasion he took a relative for a medical consultation and was made to wait along with all the other patients in the queue.
How come Times of Malta and Malta Today journalists were on Magistrate Peralta’s guest list?
I find it strange that Times of Malta roped in Mr. Martin to take photos at the party, while other court reporters were reportedely enjoying the magistrate’s party as his own guests.
Was the Nationalist Party divided in the 80s, is still divided?
Wasn’t Peralta a magistrate in Gozo in the mid eighties together with Dennis Montebello?
[Daphne – Not the mid 1980s, but the early 1990s. He was made a magistrate after 1987. Yes, he was based in Gozo with that other dissolute magistrate, Denis Montebello.]
You are so right, birds of a feather.
It would be very interesting to gather recent judgements of these two and examine how they came to their conclusions because I know for sure that important facts have been left out on occasion. This led to the impairment of justice thereby giving merit where merit was not due.
This anomaly may have been carried out to accommodate others not directly involved in the case but who may have had an interest.
The Magistrate justified himself by saying he was standing at The Bar.
He was upholding the spirit of the law.
Plans for other similar courtroom parties have now gone up in smoke.
All parties have now been barred
If I am not mistaken, Peralta was the counting agent for Notary John Cachia Zammit who contested the 1991 elections for the PN.
Will Owen Bonnici ask for the Commission for the Administration of Justice to investigate Magistrate Herrera, too, given that she was at the party?
Herrera did nothing wrong by attending the party. In my view the only wrong thing that happened, was the stupid call for the arrest of a journalist. full stop
If Peralta suvives the Commission for the Administration of Justice investigation, it means Owen Bonnici has to go.
Now it’s either one or the other.
[Daphne – That’s a total non sequitur, sorry. And judges and magistrates always ‘survive’ a Commission for the Administration of Justice investigation, because the Commission has no power to get rid of them.]
How very true the title of this piece is. But here in Malta .. oh no!
You see, people have been brainwashed into believing that every individual is intrinsically good and that everybody should be given a second, third or more chance if necessary and so why bring up the past in such cases?
Responsible for this brainwashing in my opinion are programme after programme of Xarabank during these last two decades, and Catholic doctrine. Widespread court judgments themselves seem to have confirmed this.
[Daphne – It’s actually just poor reporting.]
From The Times of Malta today:
“Asked today whether he was a member of a Freemason lodge, the magistrate said he would not reply. However he pointed out that there were various judgements even at the European Court of Human Rights, which said that there was nothing illegal about freemasonry and there was nothing wrong with members of the judiciary being Freemasons.”
Peralta’s arrogance and abuse of power is protected by a political system without standards. Any judge or magistrate can act wrongfully and never be called to account by simply playing the political card.
As soon as politicians and judges stop treating us like we are gullible idiots, and only then, will there be any change for the better.
But we are “gullible idiots”! There is the result of the last general election as proof.
I don’t know whether the Opposition can present an impeachment motion in Parliament. If they can they should do it, rather than wait for the Government to take the first step.
Hereunder is a Press Release issued earlier today by Arnold Cassola as Chairperson of Alternattiva Demokratika:
PR20/12/2013 Magistrate should resign, says AD
With reference to the Peralta incident yesterday, Alternattiva Demokratka Chairperson, Prof. Arnold Cassola, said: “Magistrate Peralta is a repeat offender. He built a house illegally in Gozo, he ordered the deportation of his previous foreign ‘housekeeper’ when he had no more use for her, he condoned insults against the gay community so long as one came from the Mellieha area, he stated that foreigners should be sentenced differently from Maltese and yesterday, the abusive arrest of journalist Ivan Martin. People abusing of their power in this way cannot be impartial members of the judiciary. Carol Peralta should simply resign with immediate effect. If he continues sitting in judgement, people might start believing that it is Villa Blye that dictates things in Malta and not the democratically elected representatives of the people”.
[Daphne – He did not condone insults against the gay community. He did something much more serious. He said that it is acceptable to try to run somebody over for calling you gay.]
He may be impeached and removed, however he shall remain a cerebral narcissist and I think he would still somehow find a way of making it in the news.
Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami, as one of the most serious and responsible politicians Malta has ever had, was completely right to present Magistrate Peralta’s impeachment in parliament, but as usual the Labour party took advantage of this serious action to gain votes and voted against it.
No impeachment motion was, to my knowledge, ever discussed and voted on, against this magistrate, in Parliament. Some reports state that this motion was withdrawn. However, I am under the impession the magistrate was suspended for some time from his duties by the Chief Justice. The only impeachment motion discussed was that concerning former Judge Anton Depasquale.
[Daphne – There is absolutely no point in bringing an impeachment motion before parliament unless you know you have the support of the Opposition. Fenech Adami definitely tried to have Carol Peralta impeached. There was the freemasonry business, but the deciding factor was crimes of violence committed against a woman. He did not have the support of Alfred Sant’s party and the motion never reached parliament, but yes, there was most definitely an attempt at impeaching him. So, David, you are wrong again. That’s what comes of taking things literally.]
You remember the Depasquale motion which also, if I recall correctly, was not supported by the opposition.
What’s the story of the violence against a woman. Did not find anything on Google.