Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A judge, a father, a sportsman and a gentleman were among the descriptions of Appellate Judge Prakash Moosai, who retired after nearly three decades on the Bench.
The Judiciary held a special sitting yesterday to mark Moosai’s 29-year judicial career. Colleagues and friends delivered tributes, many drawing on cricket to reflect on his life and work.
Chief Justice Ronnie Boodoosingh said he first heard of Moosai while he was representing Trinidad and Tobago in regional cricket, even after being called to the Bar in 1981.
Boodoosingh said Moosai carried the skills he developed on the cricket field into the courtroom.
“Those innings gave an indication of his personality and mindset. It was characterised by patience, waiting for the bad ball, tenacity in pressing on in the face of opposition, a step-by-step methodical approach in building an innings, and tremendous flair in the execution of his stroke play,” he said.
“That approach, exemplified in his cricket, translated into his legal and judicial work. He took time to listen to the parties, he asked relevant questions, he examined and weighed the evidence, and crafted meticulously written, sound judgments.”
Boodoosingh said Moosai’s attention to detail helped ensure many of his judgments were upheld on appeal, including by the United Kingdom-based Privy Council.
Appellate Judge Mira Dean-Armorer said Moosai put more into the world than he took out.
“His life exemplified the definition of a gentleman,” she said.
Dean-Armorer noted that after leaving professional cricket to focus on law, Moosai continued to serve on the Past Cricketers Society, which raises funds for former players facing medical challenges. She also spoke of his devotion to his wife, Lesley-Ann Lucky Samaroo, SC, and their two daughters.
Attorney General John Jeremie highlighted cases Moosai decided during a judicial career that began in 1997.
“Your well-reasoned decisions have made the law more intelligible and its application more exact. You have helped to develop our jurisprudence through sustained dedication to the questions of law that have been entrusted to you,” Jeremie said.
Responding to the tributes, Moosai began with a cricket reference.
“I have faced Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts, to name a few and I am still here. This morning feels like being back at the crease all over again,” he said.
Moosai said his love of cricket began in the backyard of his El Dorado home, where he played with his siblings. “My three younger sisters were remarkably good cricketers,” he said.
He said his parents, who had to leave school at the primary level, were proud when he attended St Mary’s College and became a lawyer. His father, he said, wanted his children to receive the education he could not.
Moosai said he embraced judicial office with the same enthusiasm he had for cricket.
“I regarded preparation as an indispensable part of my duties,” he said.
He expressed confidence that his colleagues would continue to strengthen the administration of justice.
“As I depart, I take comfort in knowing that the Chief Justice and my five most senior colleagues, who I affectionately describe as the big five, will continue to provide the experience, stability and leadership necessary to sustain the court’s high standards,” he said.
