‘If We Fail to Perform, Society Will Be Doomed’

Civil Law Court Kennedy Peabody has warned his lawyers that their failure to judicially perform their responsibilities will bring doom to the society.

“This is important so that we are not perceived as indulging in the misinterpretation of the law. We cannot afford to be seen as those who mislead society by wasting our time, energy, skills and resources,” Judge Kennedy Peabody told the lawyers, on Monday, September 20, at the opening of the Civil Law Courts (A and B).

“It is imperative that the task which we undertake today be seen by the public and society as our commitment to the rule of law and the betterment of our values,” he noted.

The warning from Judge Peabody comes amid widespread public impression that Liberia’s Judicial Branch of government is corrupt and has failed to correct ethical breaches by judges and lawyers, which has created a dark cloud over the justice system.

According to Judge Peabody, he is of the view that a proper understanding of the challenges and issues involved in the duty and responsibility of lawyers can take a new course.

“We, as members of the highest and most respectable profession in the country, have a duty and responsibility to maintain the responsibility most befitting our profession and the courts,” Peabody reminded his colleagues.

For the vital role they play, the civil law court judge said: “We need to rekindle a high degree of public confidence in our system of the law. We must chart a new course, redesign our approach to the legal and justice system and the rule of law.”

He added, "We must be more concerned with the law and its impact on society. Our actions will dictate the course, our perception of the law will dictate the course, and above all else, our sense of responsibility to the Judiciary and the Liberian people will dictate the course.

“You are the pillar of democracy for the rule of law. You are a catalyst of peace and stability in the society,” Judge Peabody admonished.

“I have made this point not because I am the Resident Circuit Judge of the sixth Judicial Circuit, Civil Law Court, but rather because I am a lawyer and I hope that the view is the same you share,” he concluded.