Law & Order
Judge appeals from two-year jail sentence
By MaltaMedia News
Apr 3, 2007 - 5:11:24 PM

Former Judge Patrick Vella has appealed from a two-year jail sentence handed down to him over bribery charges in March.

The appeal states that the Court¡¯s decision to jail the former Judge for two years was incorrect, since Dr. Patrick Vella could have been given a suspended sentence instead. The judge was jailed on the 13th March after admitting he received money to reduce a prison sentence handed down to Mario Camilleri, also known as l-Imnie©¤ru, in 2002.

The defence counsel, made up of the defence counsel comprising Dr. Toni Abela, Dr. Michael Sciriha, Dr. Roberto Montalto and Dr. Jose Herrera, argued that former Judge collaborated during investigations, apologized for the crime and resigned from the position he held prior to the Judgement being handed down.

The defence counsel also said that the Court jailed Dr. Patrick Vella for two years in a bid for him to change himself, while concurrently noting that the Judge had already reformed himself.

The appeal also called for the period Dr. Patrick Vella spent under house arrest to be taken into consideration.

Judge Giannino Caruana Demajo had been presided over the trial.

Former Chief Justice Dr. Noel Arrigo, who was also involved in the case, will stand trial over the same accusations in the third week of April. Like the former Judge, D r. Noel Arrigo has also chosen to have his case heard without a jury, with Judge Giannino Caruana Demajo giving the verdict.

Mario Camilleri, along with his son Pierre and two other men, Joseph Zammit and Anthony Grech Sant were in 2002 accused of corrupting the two former judges by paying them Lm 5,000 so that l-Imnie©¤ru¡¯s prison sentence would be reduced in the Court of Appeal. In February the prosecuted persons were sent for to testify in court. 

Mario Camilleri is a convicted drug trafficker who had his jail sentence reduced by four years by an Appeals court on which former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and former Judge Patrick Vella sat. Mario Camilleri, Pierre Camilleri, Joseph Zammit and Anthony Grech Sant are all expected to take the witness stand during the trials.

The allegations against the Chief Justice and Judge came to light on the 1st of August 2002. A motion for them to be removed from their respective posts was presented on the 5th August 2002, followed by their resignation shortly afterwards. Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano succeeded Noel Arrigo on the 26th August 2002.

Read more about the case in MaltaMedia's special feature: Judges on Trial.