Diplomatic Immunity for the Van der sloots
CORRUPTION AND COLLUSION INHIBITED SEARCH FOR NATALEE HOLLOWAY
Department of Justice official and Dutch Judges drastically limited the search of the Van Der Sloot property as a favor to Joran van der Sloot’s father.
Despite what Aruban government officials led the U.S. media to believe, there was never a full search made of the Van Der Sloot property in order to find evidence in the case of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Dompig: That is correct. The fact is that we as a law enforcement agency always try to get the maximum. Meaning that we want to search as much places as possible. We were not granted, by the judge, a search warrant for the complete house, we only received the warrant for the apartment.
Reporter: But what about after Paul Van der Sloot was arrested, couldn’t you get a warrant to search the house then?
Dompig: It was also denied, we were a bit disappointed with that. The judge was coming from another island I must point out. He said we didn’t make a good enough case to get a warrant.
10-9-05 Big Story Dompig no search warrant
http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/?p=1730#more-1730
Although a warrant for a search was originally requested and granted to the prosecutor, officers were blocked from searching the main residence and grounds by Justice Department official Ben King (Voking) and Dutch Judge Bob Witt, who were waiting at the Van Der Sloot’s premises when the search team arrived.
11/27/06
VAN SUSTEREN: What about the search of the van der Sloot property? Was that ever done, and was, you know--including, sort of, the cabana area where Joran lives?
DE VRIES: Well, the search in the home address of the family van der Sloot was very strange because the search warrant was made by head prosecutor Karin Janssen, and contained an allowance to search the whole address, “Montanja nineteen.”
So, the gardens, the buildings--everything.
But, when the police was on the spot, another high-ranking employee of the Justice office--it was Mr. Bob Witt--reduced the search warrant to only the room of Joran--and that was very strange. 11/28/06
Robert Jensen show
PRdVries: Yes the police missed several changes to do things right: when they wanted to search the house the door was opened by Mr. Ben King, an assistant of the Procurements Gen. office.: the highest justice-office on the island and a friend of the family who wanted to support the VdSloots in these difficult times… So clearly the search of the house hadn’t been a surprise to the VdSloots. And the police had a warrant for the complete estate but a judge - Bob Wit - who was at the house as well said only Jorans room could be searched. These are things a Dutch crime-reporter is of course totally astonished about.
Justice Department official Ben King, who later admitted to the media that he was a close friend of Paulus Van der Sloot, claimed he was on vacation and therefore not acting on behalf of the Justice department. It was King who personally informed the search team they could only search the small apartment of Joran Van Der Sloot, located in the back yard of the property just behind the main residence, when they arrived.
Also present at the Van Der Sloot residence was Dutch Judge Bob Witt from Curacao, who was one judge presiding over the case. It should be noted that Paulus Van der Sloot was a Dutch judge-in-training at the time of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.
Although Joran Van Der Sloot was arrested on June 9, 2005 the Aruba Prosecutor Karin Janssen did not execute a search of the Van Der Sloot residence until nearly a week later on June 15th with members of her office, the Aruba Police department, and Dutch forensics specialists from Holland in tow.
The search itself of the Van Der Sloot apartment looks now to be nothing more than a “mock raid” for media consumption purposes. The search lasted only four hours and was conducted in the middle of the day, quite a contrast to the early morning raid the same Prosecutor ordered on the residences of two black security guards on June 5th.
The two security guards were arrested at 6:30 am and “perp walked” for the mainstream media who also got to witness their residences being ransacked. It was later proven both guards had alibis for the night Ms. Holloway and no evidence was found at either of their homes, which ultimately led to their release.
The fact that the Van Der Sloot residence and grounds were not searched was kept hidden from the media until mid-October when acting Police Chief Gerold Dompig revealed his department was denied a full search of the Van der Sloot property on not one, but two occasions. In addition to being denied a full search on June 15th, a second request to search the main residence was flatly denied by a Dutch judge when Paulus Van Der Sloot was arrested on June 23rd.
Judicial rulings in the Natalee Holloway case have been riddled with questionable decisions, leading many to believe Paulus Van der Sloot’s personal and professional connections to the Justice Department, Aruba Police Department, and the Dutch judges have deliberately tried to keep the case from being solved.
It now appears there has finally been a proper decision made in this case by Judge Rick Smid. The decision to retain three of Natalee's attackers as official suspects is the first positive step in a very long time.
Will Aruban officials take their cue from this Judge and finally do the right thing for Natalee Holloway?
We will not let up until this victim and her family receives justice.
Natalee's Freebirds
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Justice Jacob “Bob” Wit
Jacob “Bob” Wit was the judge present at the van der Sloot property on June 15, 2005 who reduced the scope of that search to only the apartment occupied by Joran van der Sloot. His actions that day lead us to wonder why he would risk his career by aiding his good friend, Paulus. Why did Justice Wit wait for the prosecutor at the van der Sloot home to limit her search areas? Why didn’t he simply make that ruling from the bench in the courtroom? Why did he feel the need to do that from the van der Sloot home?
Justice Wit is a judge for the Caribbean Court of Justice. As such, he has a stringent Code of Ethics he must follow at all times – both in and outside the courtroom, as you will read below.
What could his relationship with Paulus van der Sloot have provided this judge in order for him to put his career on the line?
This is a short list of the Code of Ethics Justice Wit obviously violated. We wonder if the Caribbean Court of Justice is aware of Justice Wit’s actions?
Propriety
This code was violated by Wit as seen by his presence at the van der Sloot home prior to the searchers arriving. Both Ben (Voc)King and Paulus van der Sloot are members of the legal profession.
1.3 A judge shall avoid close personal association with individual members of the legal profession, particularly those who practice in the judge’s court, where such association might reasonably give rise to the suspicion or appearance of favoritism or partiality.
Justice Wit used not his home, but that of a suspect in a criminal investigation as a meeting place for himself, said suspect, and a prosecution official.
1.4 A judge shall avoid the use of the judge’s residence by a member of the legal profession to receive clients or other members of the legal profession in circumstances that might reasonably give rise to the suspicion or appearance of impropriety on the part of the judge.
Was there any official reason given, in writing, for Wit’s verbal order at the van der Sloot home for curbing the areas of the search? Or did he merely do this to help his friend Paulus?
1.9 A judge shall not allow the judge’s family, social or other relationships improperly to influence the judge’s judicial conduct and judgment as a judge.
Was the mere presence of Justice Wit at the van der Sloot property enough to dissuade Karin Janssen from arguing the merits of her search warrant granted by the Joint Court? Did Wit use the prestige of his office to intimidate the searchers?
1.10 A judge shall not use or lend the prestige of the judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge, a member of the judge’s family or of anyone else, nor shall a judge permit others to convey the impression that anyone is in a special position improperly to influence the judge in the performance of judicial duties.
Integrity
Justice Wit’s conduct here was certainly not above reproach – as even the acting Chief of Police was distraught at the limits set by Wit on their search of the van der Sloot property.
3.1 A judge shall ensure that his or her conduct is above reproach in the view of reasonable, fair-minded and informed persons.
Wit’s actions assured that not only would justice not be done, but failed to even attempt to create the appearance of justice.
3.2 The behavior and conduct of a judge must reaffirm the people’s faith in the integrity of the judiciary. Justice must not merely be done but must also be seen to be done.
How could Justice Wit ever again require others to uphold this Code of Ethics, when he himself ignored them to aid his friend and colleague, Paulus van der Sloot?
3.3 A judge, in addition to observing personally the standards of this Code, shall encourage and support their observance by others.
Impartiality
By reducing the scope of the search of the property of his friend and colleague, Justice Wit blatantly disregarded all thoughts of bias, favour, and prejudice.
4.1 A judge shall perform his or her judicial duties without favour, bias or prejudice.
Not only did Justice Wit lose the confidence of the public with his curtailing of the search, he lost the confidence of the Aruban prosecutor, and law enforcement – as evidenced by the public statements made by Chief Dompig in October 2005.
4.2 A judge shall ensure that his or her conduct, both in and out of court, maintains and enhances the confidence of the public, the legal profession and litigants in the impartiality of the judge and of the judiciary.
Justice Wit should have disqualified and excused himself from making any rulings in this case, as his actions showed he was clearly unable to decide any matters in this case impartially.
4.5 A judge shall disqualify himself or herself from participating in any proceedings in which the judge is unable to decide the matter impartially or in which a reasonable, fair-minded and informed person might believe that the judge is unable to decide the matter impartially.
Paulus van der Sloot, being an attorney and a substitute Judge, continues to be a member of the same fraternal body as Justice Wit. This fact alone should have caused Justice Wit to disqualify himself from making any decisions in this case. They both served on the Joint Court at the same time.
4.5.1 A judge must be sensitive to the fact that fraternal bodies are shrouded in mystery and clothed with a perception of secrecy and of providing unconditional assistance to members in times of need, trouble and distress. Persons who are not members of such bodies are likely to conclude that a litigant, belonging to the same fraternal body as a judge, enjoys an unfair advantage. In such circumstances, it would be appropriate for a judge to disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the impartiality of the judge might reasonably be questioned.
There has been no transparency regarding Justice Wit’s decision to limit the scope of the search. Quite the contrary. His actions even took the Prosecutor by surprise, as this decision by Wit was only made known to Janssen the day of the search, when she arrived to execute the warrant.
4.5.2 A judge should therefore recognize that transparency assists in combating corruption and suspicions, and he or she should encourage judicial colleagues and the court staff to assist in promoting the intrinsic merits of transparent conduct and infusing public confidence in the role, functions and operations of the court.
4.6 A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceedings in which there might be a reasonable perception of a lack of impartiality of the judge including, but not limited to, instances where:
Did Justice Wit become aware that evidence could very well have been obtained through the forensic search of the van der Sloot home and property? Is that the reason he tied the hands of the Prosecutor?
4.6.1 The judge has actual bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceedings;
Equality
Did Justice Wit have discussions with Paulus van der Sloot, unbeknownst to the Prosecutor and law enforcement officials that led him to understand the involvement of his friend in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway?
5.7 Without authority of law and notice to, and consent of, the parties and an opportunity to respond, a judge shall not engage independent, personal investigation of the facts of a case before him or her.
Accountability
7.1 Institutions and procedures for the implementation of this Code shall provide a publicly credible means for considering and determining complaints against judges. This is to be pursued without prejudice or hindrance to the universally recognized and hallowed principle of judicial independence.
7.2 By the very nature of their judicial office, judges are not, except in accordance with the law, accountable for their decisions to any organ or entity within the jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice or elsewhere, but are accountable for their conduct to institutions that are specifically established to implement and administer this Code.
7.3 The implementation of this Code shall take into account the legitimate needs of a judge, by reason of the nature of the judicial office, to be afforded protection from vexatious or unsubstantiated accusations and due process of law in the resolution of complaints against the judge.
We can’t help but wonder what the Caribbean Court of Justice would have to say about Justice Wit’s actions in the Holloway case.
Has the institution charged with implementing this Code been made aware of Justice Wit’s conduct?
Perhaps they should be………………..
http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/codeofethics.html
We will not let up until this victim and her family has justice.
Natalee’s Freebirds
Department of Justice official and Dutch Judges drastically limited the search of the Van Der Sloot property as a favor to Joran van der Sloot’s father.
Despite what Aruban government officials led the U.S. media to believe, there was never a full search made of the Van Der Sloot property in order to find evidence in the case of missing Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Dompig: That is correct. The fact is that we as a law enforcement agency always try to get the maximum. Meaning that we want to search as much places as possible. We were not granted, by the judge, a search warrant for the complete house, we only received the warrant for the apartment.
Reporter: But what about after Paul Van der Sloot was arrested, couldn’t you get a warrant to search the house then?
Dompig: It was also denied, we were a bit disappointed with that. The judge was coming from another island I must point out. He said we didn’t make a good enough case to get a warrant.
10-9-05 Big Story Dompig no search warrant
http://www.scaredmonkeys.com/?p=1730#more-1730
Although a warrant for a search was originally requested and granted to the prosecutor, officers were blocked from searching the main residence and grounds by Justice Department official Ben King (Voking) and Dutch Judge Bob Witt, who were waiting at the Van Der Sloot’s premises when the search team arrived.
11/27/06
VAN SUSTEREN: What about the search of the van der Sloot property? Was that ever done, and was, you know--including, sort of, the cabana area where Joran lives?
DE VRIES: Well, the search in the home address of the family van der Sloot was very strange because the search warrant was made by head prosecutor Karin Janssen, and contained an allowance to search the whole address, “Montanja nineteen.”
So, the gardens, the buildings--everything.
But, when the police was on the spot, another high-ranking employee of the Justice office--it was Mr. Bob Witt--reduced the search warrant to only the room of Joran--and that was very strange. 11/28/06
Robert Jensen show
PRdVries: Yes the police missed several changes to do things right: when they wanted to search the house the door was opened by Mr. Ben King, an assistant of the Procurements Gen. office.: the highest justice-office on the island and a friend of the family who wanted to support the VdSloots in these difficult times… So clearly the search of the house hadn’t been a surprise to the VdSloots. And the police had a warrant for the complete estate but a judge - Bob Wit - who was at the house as well said only Jorans room could be searched. These are things a Dutch crime-reporter is of course totally astonished about.
Justice Department official Ben King, who later admitted to the media that he was a close friend of Paulus Van der Sloot, claimed he was on vacation and therefore not acting on behalf of the Justice department. It was King who personally informed the search team they could only search the small apartment of Joran Van Der Sloot, located in the back yard of the property just behind the main residence, when they arrived.
Also present at the Van Der Sloot residence was Dutch Judge Bob Witt from Curacao, who was one judge presiding over the case. It should be noted that Paulus Van der Sloot was a Dutch judge-in-training at the time of Natalee Holloway’s disappearance.
Although Joran Van Der Sloot was arrested on June 9, 2005 the Aruba Prosecutor Karin Janssen did not execute a search of the Van Der Sloot residence until nearly a week later on June 15th with members of her office, the Aruba Police department, and Dutch forensics specialists from Holland in tow.
The search itself of the Van Der Sloot apartment looks now to be nothing more than a “mock raid” for media consumption purposes. The search lasted only four hours and was conducted in the middle of the day, quite a contrast to the early morning raid the same Prosecutor ordered on the residences of two black security guards on June 5th.
The two security guards were arrested at 6:30 am and “perp walked” for the mainstream media who also got to witness their residences being ransacked. It was later proven both guards had alibis for the night Ms. Holloway and no evidence was found at either of their homes, which ultimately led to their release.
The fact that the Van Der Sloot residence and grounds were not searched was kept hidden from the media until mid-October when acting Police Chief Gerold Dompig revealed his department was denied a full search of the Van der Sloot property on not one, but two occasions. In addition to being denied a full search on June 15th, a second request to search the main residence was flatly denied by a Dutch judge when Paulus Van Der Sloot was arrested on June 23rd.
Judicial rulings in the Natalee Holloway case have been riddled with questionable decisions, leading many to believe Paulus Van der Sloot’s personal and professional connections to the Justice Department, Aruba Police Department, and the Dutch judges have deliberately tried to keep the case from being solved.
It now appears there has finally been a proper decision made in this case by Judge Rick Smid. The decision to retain three of Natalee's attackers as official suspects is the first positive step in a very long time.
Will Aruban officials take their cue from this Judge and finally do the right thing for Natalee Holloway?
We will not let up until this victim and her family receives justice.
Natalee's Freebirds
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Justice Jacob “Bob” Wit
Jacob “Bob” Wit was the judge present at the van der Sloot property on June 15, 2005 who reduced the scope of that search to only the apartment occupied by Joran van der Sloot. His actions that day lead us to wonder why he would risk his career by aiding his good friend, Paulus. Why did Justice Wit wait for the prosecutor at the van der Sloot home to limit her search areas? Why didn’t he simply make that ruling from the bench in the courtroom? Why did he feel the need to do that from the van der Sloot home?
Justice Wit is a judge for the Caribbean Court of Justice. As such, he has a stringent Code of Ethics he must follow at all times – both in and outside the courtroom, as you will read below.
What could his relationship with Paulus van der Sloot have provided this judge in order for him to put his career on the line?
This is a short list of the Code of Ethics Justice Wit obviously violated. We wonder if the Caribbean Court of Justice is aware of Justice Wit’s actions?
Propriety
This code was violated by Wit as seen by his presence at the van der Sloot home prior to the searchers arriving. Both Ben (Voc)King and Paulus van der Sloot are members of the legal profession.
1.3 A judge shall avoid close personal association with individual members of the legal profession, particularly those who practice in the judge’s court, where such association might reasonably give rise to the suspicion or appearance of favoritism or partiality.
Justice Wit used not his home, but that of a suspect in a criminal investigation as a meeting place for himself, said suspect, and a prosecution official.
1.4 A judge shall avoid the use of the judge’s residence by a member of the legal profession to receive clients or other members of the legal profession in circumstances that might reasonably give rise to the suspicion or appearance of impropriety on the part of the judge.
Was there any official reason given, in writing, for Wit’s verbal order at the van der Sloot home for curbing the areas of the search? Or did he merely do this to help his friend Paulus?
1.9 A judge shall not allow the judge’s family, social or other relationships improperly to influence the judge’s judicial conduct and judgment as a judge.
Was the mere presence of Justice Wit at the van der Sloot property enough to dissuade Karin Janssen from arguing the merits of her search warrant granted by the Joint Court? Did Wit use the prestige of his office to intimidate the searchers?
1.10 A judge shall not use or lend the prestige of the judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge, a member of the judge’s family or of anyone else, nor shall a judge permit others to convey the impression that anyone is in a special position improperly to influence the judge in the performance of judicial duties.
Integrity
Justice Wit’s conduct here was certainly not above reproach – as even the acting Chief of Police was distraught at the limits set by Wit on their search of the van der Sloot property.
3.1 A judge shall ensure that his or her conduct is above reproach in the view of reasonable, fair-minded and informed persons.
Wit’s actions assured that not only would justice not be done, but failed to even attempt to create the appearance of justice.
3.2 The behavior and conduct of a judge must reaffirm the people’s faith in the integrity of the judiciary. Justice must not merely be done but must also be seen to be done.
How could Justice Wit ever again require others to uphold this Code of Ethics, when he himself ignored them to aid his friend and colleague, Paulus van der Sloot?
3.3 A judge, in addition to observing personally the standards of this Code, shall encourage and support their observance by others.
Impartiality
By reducing the scope of the search of the property of his friend and colleague, Justice Wit blatantly disregarded all thoughts of bias, favour, and prejudice.
4.1 A judge shall perform his or her judicial duties without favour, bias or prejudice.
Not only did Justice Wit lose the confidence of the public with his curtailing of the search, he lost the confidence of the Aruban prosecutor, and law enforcement – as evidenced by the public statements made by Chief Dompig in October 2005.
4.2 A judge shall ensure that his or her conduct, both in and out of court, maintains and enhances the confidence of the public, the legal profession and litigants in the impartiality of the judge and of the judiciary.
Justice Wit should have disqualified and excused himself from making any rulings in this case, as his actions showed he was clearly unable to decide any matters in this case impartially.
4.5 A judge shall disqualify himself or herself from participating in any proceedings in which the judge is unable to decide the matter impartially or in which a reasonable, fair-minded and informed person might believe that the judge is unable to decide the matter impartially.
Paulus van der Sloot, being an attorney and a substitute Judge, continues to be a member of the same fraternal body as Justice Wit. This fact alone should have caused Justice Wit to disqualify himself from making any decisions in this case. They both served on the Joint Court at the same time.
4.5.1 A judge must be sensitive to the fact that fraternal bodies are shrouded in mystery and clothed with a perception of secrecy and of providing unconditional assistance to members in times of need, trouble and distress. Persons who are not members of such bodies are likely to conclude that a litigant, belonging to the same fraternal body as a judge, enjoys an unfair advantage. In such circumstances, it would be appropriate for a judge to disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the impartiality of the judge might reasonably be questioned.
There has been no transparency regarding Justice Wit’s decision to limit the scope of the search. Quite the contrary. His actions even took the Prosecutor by surprise, as this decision by Wit was only made known to Janssen the day of the search, when she arrived to execute the warrant.
4.5.2 A judge should therefore recognize that transparency assists in combating corruption and suspicions, and he or she should encourage judicial colleagues and the court staff to assist in promoting the intrinsic merits of transparent conduct and infusing public confidence in the role, functions and operations of the court.
4.6 A judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceedings in which there might be a reasonable perception of a lack of impartiality of the judge including, but not limited to, instances where:
Did Justice Wit become aware that evidence could very well have been obtained through the forensic search of the van der Sloot home and property? Is that the reason he tied the hands of the Prosecutor?
4.6.1 The judge has actual bias or prejudice concerning a party or personal knowledge of disputed evidentiary facts concerning the proceedings;
Equality
Did Justice Wit have discussions with Paulus van der Sloot, unbeknownst to the Prosecutor and law enforcement officials that led him to understand the involvement of his friend in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway?
5.7 Without authority of law and notice to, and consent of, the parties and an opportunity to respond, a judge shall not engage independent, personal investigation of the facts of a case before him or her.
Accountability
7.1 Institutions and procedures for the implementation of this Code shall provide a publicly credible means for considering and determining complaints against judges. This is to be pursued without prejudice or hindrance to the universally recognized and hallowed principle of judicial independence.
7.2 By the very nature of their judicial office, judges are not, except in accordance with the law, accountable for their decisions to any organ or entity within the jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice or elsewhere, but are accountable for their conduct to institutions that are specifically established to implement and administer this Code.
7.3 The implementation of this Code shall take into account the legitimate needs of a judge, by reason of the nature of the judicial office, to be afforded protection from vexatious or unsubstantiated accusations and due process of law in the resolution of complaints against the judge.
We can’t help but wonder what the Caribbean Court of Justice would have to say about Justice Wit’s actions in the Holloway case.
Has the institution charged with implementing this Code been made aware of Justice Wit’s conduct?
Perhaps they should be………………..
http://www.caribbeancourtofjustice.org/codeofethics.html
We will not let up until this victim and her family has justice.
Natalee’s Freebirds
posted by Deetch at
10:35 AM
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