Rosado Trial Postponed Again After Constitutional Challenge Over Missing Lead Counsel

The high-profile criminal trial of senior Belizean diplomat Alexis Roberto Rosado has been postponed once again, this time after an urgent constitutional challenge was filed arguing that his right to a fair trial was at risk when his lead attorney, Richard “Dickie” Bradley, failed to appear in court.

Just days after developments in the Belmopan High Court, where Rosado dismissed attorney Leeroy Banner and sought time to secure new legal representation, Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay has stepped into the matter with an application seeking constitutional protection for the accused ambassador.

According to Courtenay, Rosado was unaware that his lead counsel would not be present when the trial resumed. He said the defendant requested an adjournment to find replacement counsel, but that request was initially denied. Courtenay argues that the Belize Constitution guarantees every accused person the right to a fair trial and adequate legal representation.

Former Ambassador Alexis Rosado Back in Court Over Rape Charges

“He was not aware that his counsel was not going to turn up, his lead counsel, and so asked for an adjournment, which was refused. The constitution guarantees to him and everyone else a fair trial.”

Rosado then contacted Courtenay. “He contacted me, told me what was happening, and so we filed an urgent constitutional review here asking the court to stop the trial in the lower court to allow him an opportunity to find counsel.”

Courtenay said Banner, who was appearing for Rosado, sought an adjournment “yesterday” because he wanted the matter heard in the High Court. “My understanding is that the prosecution resisted strongly giving an adjournment for his constitutional claim and application to be heard. Eventually, the trial judge relented and has adjourned it until the sixteenth of October to give him time to find a lead counsel.”

Courtenay said that gives Rosado a little over a week to find lead counsel.

Rosado, fifty-six, is facing three indictments stemming from allegations made by a woman who claims she was sexually abused over a period of years beginning when she was a minor. He has denied the allegations.

The case has drawn national attention due to his senior role within Belize’s foreign service, where he currently serves as Belize’s Assistant Agent before the International Court of Justice.