The Court of Appeal on Friday denied a request for an emergency stay of Justice Bernard Turner's decision that held attorney Geoffrey Farquharson in contempt.
Turner on June 4 fined Farquharson $2,000 for contemptuous remarks he made during the course of the Kofhe Goodman murder trial. He was given 21 days to pay the fine.
In refusing the application, the justices of appeal suggested that Farquharson pay the fine ahead of the deadline. They said the money would be refunded if he were successful on appeal.
Farquharson was found guilty of contempt of court on May 22 for his conduct during the trial, which ended on October 29, 2013, when Goodman was sentenced to death for the September 2011 murder of primary school student Marco Archer.
Justice Turner cited Farquharson for contempt in relation to remarks that he made on May 15, 2013 and July 18, 2013 that impugned the integrity of the court.
In sentencing, Turner said that he was compelled to punish Farquharson to spare another judge from the same behavior. He said that Farquharson was unrepentant in his behavior by maintaining that he acted properly.
On May 15, Farquharson said, "We are concerned that the apparent bias of the court may be tantamount to participation of the court wittingly or unwittingly to this perversion of justice. We say that what the prosecution has done is to fix this man up with a case, and that the court, by its actions, may well be viewed by a disinterested observer to be enabling that effort by the prosecution. If that is the case, my Lord, that would mean that there was a suggestion that the court itself may be guilty of a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice."
In July, Farquharson accused the court of "blatantly and flagrantly disregarding the law and making up the law on which it purports to act".
He added, "My Lord, I want the Bahamian people to know what is on going in their court, because I want them to know that the judge is ignoring the legislation. I want the jury and the country to understand what is going in the Supreme Court, my Lord, and you are trying to hide it from the jury, and you are trying to hide it from the public. And the prosecution is trying to hide it from the jury and the public, what they are doing in here. And what they are doing in here is grossly unfair and unlawful and you, My Lord, is enabling them."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian