Court reschedules ruling on ‘Mama D’s’ IC case for December 13

A critical decision is looming in the case against former House Speaker Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, as Parish Court Judge Leighton Morris is set to rule on December 13 whether the Integrity Commission's (IC) case against Dalrymple-Philibert will proceed to trial or be thrown out.

The decision was initially scheduled for Friday morning in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, but the judge indicated that he needed more time to make a decision on the matter. 

The IC's investigation report alleged that Dalrymple-Philibert failed to disclose in her statutory declarations, a Mercedes Benz GLA 250 motor vehicle which she owns.

The subsequent charges laid on the politician in September of 2023 were four counts of making a false statement in a statutory declaration between 2015 and 2017.

She was also charged with four counts of breaching section 43(2)(a) of the Integrity Commission Act, 2017, for making a false statement in a statutory declaration between 2018 and 2020.

However, Dalrymple-Philibert's attorney has contended that his client was charged under the wrong section of the law.

Additionally, the attorney said the IC misinterpreted the legislation.

Following the release of the report, Dalrymple-Philibert resigned as House Speaker and Member of Parliament (MP) for South Trelawny in September last year.

However, 'Mama D', as she is affectionately called by her constituents and her Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) colleagues, has returned to representational politics, contesting the recent by-election in South Trelawny that she won on November 22.

She was officially sworn in as a parliamentarian at Tuesday's sitting of the House of Representatives.