MONROVIA – Criminal Court ‘A’ Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie has issued a two-day ultimatum to Monrovia City Court Magistrate Ben L. Barco to allow private prosecutor Jumel Cox an opportunity to authenticate a video she claims shows an alleged assault on her at a local university campus.
Judge Willie’s order comes as part of a Summary Proceeding filed by Cox, who is seeking to overturn an earlier ruling by Magistrate Barco. The magistrate had denied the admission of the video into evidence, citing it was recorded illegally and lacked proper authentication.
Cox, the complainant in the case, alleges that while testifying at the Monrovia City Court, she attempted to introduce a video recording as evidence of the alleged assault. However, following an objection from the defense, Magistrate Barco barred the video from being played or admitted.
In her petition to the higher court, Cox argued that the magistrate’s ruling was prejudicial and asked that the decision be overturned so the video could be considered as part of the evidence.
Responding to the petition, Magistrate Barco, through his legal counsel, contended that the video had circulated widely on social media and was not properly authenticated. He noted that the individual who recorded the footage had not been brought to court, and as such, the court could not independently verify the video’s authenticity.
After reviewing arguments from both parties, Judge Willie posed a central legal question: Should the video recording be played and admitted into evidence?
Citing Chapter 25, Section 25.5 of the Civil Procedure Law, titled “Burden of Proof,” the judge noted that the obligation to prove the video’s authenticity rests with the party seeking its admission. The law states: “The burden of proof rests on the party who alleges a fact except that when the subject matter of negative averment lies peculiarly within the knowledge of the other party.”
Based on this provision, Judge Willie emphasized that Cox, as the petitioner and private prosecutor, bears the burden to prove her claims. He further stated that while the origin of the video remains in question, the court cannot summarily deny its admission without first allowing the petitioner a chance to verify its source.
“In the interest of justice and fair play,” Judge Willie said, “the petitioner should be granted the opportunity to produce the individual who recorded the video to confirm whether the footage was indeed captured during the commission of the alleged offense.”
Accordingly, the court ordered Magistrate Barco to give Cox no more than two days to bring the alleged video recorder or photographer to court to authenticate the footage.
The video is being introduced as part of Cox’s evidence to support her allegations of simple assault, menacing, and disorderly conduct against the defendant.
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