Lawyer Targeted, ICC Clashes with Trump and other legal highlights

Lawyer under attack

On 22nd August, 2025, what ought to be a routine committal hearing in murder case took an unfortunate  turn as family members of the victim directed insult on the lawyer for the accused person. It has further been  reported in certain quarters that but for the heavy police presence within the court premises, family members and sympathizers of the deceased would have physically assaulted the accused person.

The case relates to the sordid murder of one Stephen King Amoah, who was an immigration officer at the time of his of alleged murder. He had gone missing after leaving home to meet a friend said to owe him a debt. According to police accounts, this visit led to the untimely death of the immigration officer.

It must be acknowledged that the loss of a loved one is, in any circumstance, a grievous experience. Even more so where the death is alleged to have arisen from violence. The grief of the bereaved family in this matter is therefore entirely understandable. That said, that should not entitle a family member of a crime victim to be unruly during the ensuing criminal proceedings.

Indeed, from some related videos on the popular social media platform- TikTok- a man who identified himself as family member of the deceased is heard telling the whole world how happy and fulfilled he was to have had the opportunity to finally launch a strike to the groin area of the accused; with a further threat to attack or hit the accused person on subsequent court dates.

This must be a genuine source of concern. While violence of every sort must not be encouraged, it becomes more disturbing when it is committed within the court premises and in spite of the presence of police officers. What was even worse was the verbal abuses rained on the lawyer representing the accused by the same culprits amidst threats only because he was performing his lawful duties as Counsel. That appeared to have informed the lawyer to retreat back into the courtroom.

Ghanaians including the family members and loved ones of the late Stephen King Amoah should understand that the law abhors the use of self-help measures including violence to settle scores and that retaliation of any kind has no justification under our laws.

Moreover, they must appreciate the fact that an accused person under our law has Constitutional and Common Law right to consult and be represented by a lawyer of their choice; especially in very serious offences such as murder which requires mandatory legal representation for an accused person. A lawyer representing an accused person in criminal proceedings does not make the lawyer an accomplice to the accused or suspect. In fact, it is the law that lawyers are officers of the court and attack on a lawyer while performing his duties at the court is effectively an attack on the court.

Relatives and friends of victims of crimes who go to court premises are encouraged to exercise maximum restraint and patience as the accused goes through the legal processes for his guilt to be established.

Trump administration and ICC

The International Criminal Court condemned a decision by the Trump administration to impose further sanctions on its judges in retaliation for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and investigating the U.S. military.

The sanctions, announced by the State Department on Wednesday, target two of the court’s 18 judges as well as two prosecutors, for what it called “transgressions against the United States and Israel.” The new penalties freeze any assets that the judges and the prosecutors hold in the United States.

The I.C.C. said the sanctions were a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution” that operates under the mandate of 125 countries.

Penalty in fraud case against case Donald Trump set aside.

A divided New York appeals court threw out a half-billion-dollar judgment against President Trump, eliminating an enormous financial burden while preserving the fraud case against him.

JudgePeter Moulton, concluded that while Mr. Trump had done harm in inflating the value of his properties and other assets, “it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half-billion-dollar award to the state.”

But the decision to eliminate the penalty was a rare point of agreement among the five-judge panel, whose lengthy ruling otherwise reflected deep discord.

While the court effectively upheld the fraud judgment against the president, several of the justices raised major questions about the case, which was decided by a state trial judge last year. A primary goal of their decision was to allow Mr. Trump to move to New York’s highest court, giving him another opportunity to challenge the finding that he was a fraudster. The Wall Street Journal

US Supreme court to the rescue of Children.

The US Supreme Court has refused to block a Mississippi law barring minors from using social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat, YouTube and X without their parents’ consent.

The court’s brief order was unsigned and gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications.

The law, enacted last year, seeks to limit minors’ access to sites allowing them “to socially interact with other users.” Lawmakers said they sought to protect children from sex trafficking, sexual abuse, violence, grooming and harassment. More generally, they said, they were concerned about the harmful effects of social media use on young people.

The law does not apply to sites mainly devoted to news, sports, commerce or video games. It also exempts email and direct messages. the New York Times