Controversial attorney Geoffrey Farquharson began serving a 14-day contempt of court sentence Thursday after he told Justice Bernard Turner he had "no intention" of paying a $2,000 fine to avoid incarceration.
Farquharson joined his client Christopher Butler on the bus to Her Majesty's Prisons yesterday afternoon. Farquharson was representing Butler in a murder and armed robbery trial moments earlier.
Farquharson was all smiles and held his head high as two police officers led him away with his hands cuffed behind his back.
Two other officers followed holding Farquharson's briefcase, robe and law books.
Turner found Farquharson in contempt on May 22 for remarks that he made in the face of the court during the Kofhe Goodman murder trial.
On June 4, he was given 21 days to pay a $2,000 fine or, in default, spend 14 days in prison.
The deadline for the expiration for payment was yesterday as the sentence took effect from June 5.
After Butler's trial was adjourned until Monday, Turner asked Farquharson, "Would you indicate to this court if you have paid the fine?"
Farquharson replied, "No, I have not."
"Do you have a stay from the Court of Appeal?"
Farquharson said, "No, I do not. The court could not grant a stay on the facts before them and the transcripts were not available."
Asked if he was in the process of paying the fine, Farquharson replied, "I have no intention of paying the fine."
Farquharson asked the court to consider delaying the commencement of the sentence because he was currently in trial. However, Turner told him that he no longer had the authority to do so.
Farquharson said, "The court is intent to have counsel suffer the indignity of this penalty and damage to his career."
Turner said, "It gives me no pleasure of any sort. I handed down a penalty, a fine and in default of payment of the fine, 14 days in prison."
Before Turner ordered the court officer to take Farquharson away, he said, "You are going to have an unlawful sentence imposed on senior counsel when there are live issues as to whether the conviction was sound."
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."
On July 18, Farquharson accused the court of "blatantly and flagrantly disregarding the law and making up the law on which it purports to act".

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