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Sharp
wit, acid tongue and quick repartee "I had heard counsel were ripped to shreds by him. My mouth was dry, my knees were knocking and I could hardly hear myself think. It was absolutely frightening." But to his surprise the encounter was uneventful. What he did not realise was that he was being well and truly assessed by the judge. "One week had lapsed and I was doing well." No scolding, no browbeating questions, no sarcastic comments. "That was when I got all cocky and invited my friends to come and watch me in court and boy didn't I regret it. He gave me an absolute ripping that day, the show ended before it began." The
beginning In 1954 Mr. Perera started out as a civil lawyer. Having completed the six-month period of apprenticeship under N.E. Weerasooriya, QC, on entering the profession he found himself out of work. "With other equally impecunious lawyers I used to just sit and twiddle my thumbs in the law library drinking a helluva lot of tea." His first case came quite by chance, through a relative. Also a civil matter, for he says, "Back then no one trusted the liberty of a man in my hands." Although the case was nothing exceptional, it earned him a handsome fee. "Two guineas, that is twenty one rupees, which was a big amount at that time, so much so that I could afford to buy presents for my mother, father and all my brothers and sisters with my first pay." Most unexpected was his entry to the field of criminal law which came after he addressed the annual 'Voetlights' dinner as the ‘Baby of the Bar’. "The following morning, it was a Sunday, I got a call from George Chitty asking me whether I liked to work in his chambers. I jumped at the opportunity and started work the next day." Working with Mr. Chitty was a treat. He was a brilliant man. And as his junior Mr. Perera was often left foxed as to how they won in court because, “half the consultation he spends talking about the four cameras he has on his table, never discusses the case in the car but goes into court and pulls out some magic from his hat and wins the case”. Mr. Perera counts the early years with Mr. Chitty as the foundation of his success. "When you work with a senior like that a lot of him rubs off on you, from knowledge to language to conduct in court. I owe him much." Moving
on Recalling his 15 years in the Department he says, "There were only around 26 advocates and those were days when the seniors had time to oversee the work and teach the juniors." Saturdays were working days at the Department. "We used to congregate in Colombo and discuss the week's proceedings. Inevitably at those meetings we studied the law, the judges and our opposing counsel." Counting a number of famous cases to his name, Mr. Perera in particular recalls the Kalattawa murder case. "The non-summary proceeding took one year and 10 days and the jury trial was fixed day to day for six months." In another case in which he prosecuted, where the accused was sentenced to a lifetime in prison, Mr. Perera recalled a twist to the tale, having met the convicted man nearly 20 years later at a pola (market), the man having been released from prison for good behaviour. "He later visited me at home asking me for a job." Military
stint Apart from his excellent advocacy skills Mr. Perera is known for his court craft. With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he recounts a gruesome murder where the woman had been stunned, strangled and thereafter torched. As the prosecutor in the case, in his possession was a book of photos of the mutilated body. Handing it over to the jury he had expressly stated not to look at the pictures, knowing very well that curiosity would get the better of them. "As anticipated they immediately began to discreetly look at the pictures. I saw the blood drain from their faces. I knew a verdict of guilt was sealed." One
of the boys Mr. Perera's most proud achievement was winning the International Court of Justice (ICJ) election for Judge C.G. Weeramantry without any assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "I personally spoke to 149 Ambassadors of the 151 countries with the exception of South Africa and Israel." Decline
of professionalism Mr. Perera blames the fusion (from proctors and advocates to attorneys-at-law) in the profession for most of today's ills. "The profession was brought to its knees by a perverse politician and has still not recovered. Judges were stripped of their robes and sat on the bench in black coat and black tie. They were made to travel in car pools, and the state stopped conferring silk in recognition of senior lawyers. The dignity and tradition on which the legal profession was based was all destroyed." Stating it was the darkest period in the history of the legal profession, explains that the system of government was such that no one dared to protest. As a result the profession has now become unmanageable. Competent counsel and judges are the bedrock of a good judicial system. "Although by and large judges are excellent, there are a few who are crude and don't have the finesse even to be nasty in an elegant way." Mr. Perera is of the opinion that Magistrates ought to be given a training at the Attorney General's Department. He opposes the current system of lone High Court judges sitting in judgment over the life and death of a man as opposed to the previous system of a Supreme Court judge hearing the trial with a jury. "Some of today's judges have not even seen a jury trial," he laments. Looking back over the 50 years, he says there are no shortcuts. To be a criminal lawyer "one has to be very analytical, with an extremely vigilant disposition and capable of instant reaction". But to be a successful criminal lawyer one has to be "absolutely hard working and have unquestionable integrity". That is how one becomes a Daya Perera. Members of the Bar will felicitate Mr. Perera on Friday, March 19 at 7.30 p.m. at the Colombo Plaza. |
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