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Today, Magistrate Norman Rodriguez made history when he went from judge to accused in front of his boss, the Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith.  The news broke late last week that he would be charged for rape, and this morning the day for the Magistrate started at the police station instead of the courthouse.  7News was there:..

At 8:30 sharp, attorney Herbert Panton pulled up in front of the Queen Street station in his SUV, and the accused Norman Rodriguez calmly stepped out

Norman Rodriguez
"What's Up"

That's all he told our camera as he stepped into the precinct three police station cooly juggling his keychain.

His attorney Hebert Panton parked and made a bee line to the station - refusing to comment to our camera.

Panton came out about 50 minutes later and spoke with co-attorney for Rodriguez, Michelle Trapp Zuniga - while Rodriguez slipped into a waiting white car - which also slipped him into the courthouse  through the kitchen, of all places.

In court the Chief Magistrate read him a single charge of rape that allegedly occurred on April 21st in Dangriga. There was no objection - and he was released on a thousand dollar bail. 

And while the media waited outside for 90 minutes covering all three possible exits, Rodriguez sweated it out in the kitchen - not the holding cell, determined to snub the waiting media, And then, suddenly, he slipped out the front door and was gone in a flash in a  waiting Ford Focus - disappearing into traffic.

But disappearing this charge won't be quite that easy and neither Rodriguez nor any of his battery of attorneys granted an interview.  So, all we have is the historical record to guess at what he might have said - here's how he put it in 2005 when he was acquitted of unlawful carnal knowledge:

Norman Rodriguez
(October 27, 2005)
"I am innocent. As far as I am concerned, if I feel that somebody was after me or trying to get me."

Disclosure is set for August the tenth, and Rodriguez next appears at the preliminary inquiry on August 24th.  No plea was taken because it is an indictable offence.

Of note is that the Chief magistrate had set out as a condition of bail that he has to surrender his travel documents to the Dangriga police station.  But, his attorney Herbert Panton asked that the condition be lifted because Rodriguez’s stepmother is ailing in the US and he may have to visit her urgently.  The magistrate agreed and waived that bail condition.

Panton is one of four attorneys for Rodriguez: the others are Hubert Elrington, Kathleen Lewis, and Michelle Trapp Zuniga.

A few more notes, Rodriguez was not escorted to the court from precinct three by police  - as is standard - and he was not made to wait in the holding cell when arriving or departing - small privileges afforded to him as a Magistrate.  Now the question is will he continue to sit as a Magistrate?  That decision is for the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, which - to our knowledge - has not made a pronouncement on the matter.