The High Court in Accra has adjourned the ongoing Adu-Boahene trial to August 25, 2026, freezing proceedings until the Supreme Court determines a pending application that seeks to stop the trial judge from sitting during the statutory legal vacation.
The vacation court held that judicial discipline requires lower benches to pause and defer to the apex court whenever an active application specifically challenges their authority to conduct proceedings.
The restraining motion, initiated by the Member of Parliament for Ofoase/Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, carries a return date of August 20, 2026.
Defence Cites Representation Concerns and Vacation Clash
When the case was called, defence counsel Peter Osei-Asamoah, holding brief for lead counsel Samuel Atta Akyea, asked the court to push the trial into the next legal term.
He explained that Atta Akyea had long-standing professional engagements scheduled across the vacation window, making it practically impossible for him to be present to conduct cross-examination.
Osei-Asamoah argued that stepping down the case was essential to safeguard the constitutional right of the accused persons to adequate legal representation.
He drew the court's focus directly to the pending apex court motion, insisting that the trial court ought to hold its hand rather than rush ahead when the Supreme Court is days away from hearing the matter.
The defence clarified that it was not claiming the High Court had already been restrained by an existing order, but rather that common sense and legal prudence dictated waiting for the impending ruling.
Deputy Attorney General Pushes for Immediate Hearing
Deputy Attorney General Dr Justice Srem-Sai strongly resisted the adjournment bid, maintaining that merely filing papers at a superior court does not strip a trial judge of operational jurisdiction.
Srem-Sai argued that allowing proceedings to stall whenever a party files a restraining motion at a higher court sets a disruptive precedent for the administration of justice.
He maintained that challenges questioning the regularity of lower court hearings belong strictly within established judicial review channels like certiorari or prohibition, neither of which automatically stops a trial judge without an express interim order.
Judge Backs Deference Over Vacation Expediency
Delivering his ruling, the presiding judge threw out the defence's excuse regarding lead counsel's schedule.
The court pointed out that granting an adjournment solely on personal diary conflicts would push the trial into October, defeating why a vacation judge was assigned in the first place.
The judge noted that Atta Akyea works within an active law firm alongside capable partners who could step in.
The judge parted company with state prosecutors on how to handle the apex court injunction.
Addressing the competing strands in Ghanaian jurisprudence, the court ruled that where an action at the Supreme Court specifically seeks to restrain a trial court from sitting during legal vacation, that lower bench must hold proceedings in abeyance until the higher court speaks.
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