Bert shuts down free speech debate - Lawyer says law used to charge KipRich is constitutional

Veteran attorney-at-law Bert Samuels has boldly declared that the controversial law used against dancehall artiste KipRich is constitutional.

The 45-year-old deejay was on Monday charged with the use of audio and audiovisual communication to promote criminal activity. The charge arose from a recent dubplate.

Under Section 18(a) of the Act, it is illegal to produce, perform, sell, or circulate any audiovisual material that promotes murder, violence, or organised crime. The charge has triggered fiery backlash, with critics blasting it as a direct attack on free speech. However, Samuels, contacted by THE STAR, swiftly shut down those arguments.

"The only person who can take away life is the state, or you're acting in self-defence. So my view is that any law that is passed that prohibits the promotion of the taking of a person's life is constitutional because the constitution says we have a right to life," Samuels said.

While making it clear that he was not weighing in on the KipRich case, he emphasised that gangs are criminal entities under the law, and therefore, "nobody can go to court and say I have the right to promote a gang, because a gang, in law, is a criminal grouping".

"So on the face of it, the law seems constitutional to me, because it aims to protect the citizens from being the victims of criminal activity," reasoned Samuels, who spent decades as a defence attorney in criminal matters.

Samuels explained that while freedom of expression is a fundamental right, it is not absolute and comes with responsibilities.

"Where a person is exercising their freedom of expression and freedom of speech, they have to be acutely aware of the provision of the constitution. It says when you're exercising your right, you must do so mindful of the rights of others, and so what this means is you cannot speak or make a statement which puts another person's right to life or liberty in danger," he said.

The St Catherine North police last week included KipRich, whose given name is Marlon Plunkett, among 16 individuals named as persons of interest. Two days later, the Telephone Ting hitmaker told THE STAR that he did a dubplate for an ovserseas-based sound system, but "di man dem splice di dub and fit it how dem waah fi get dem fawud".

Samuels warned that entertainers must be particularly cautious with their lyrics and social media statements, as they can be easily identified and held accountable.

"An artiste in particular must realise that because they own lyrics, that is, they have put out their name - be it a studio name or a real name - they're at a higher risk because to identify them is going to be very easy. So when John Brown makes a comment on social media, he's basically unknown, but artistes are easy to find," he said.

"Also we have to realise that your defence can't be that the lyrics was written by another person ... once you speak it you own it," Samuels added.