Judge Feika Denies Bail to Former Vice President Jewel Taylor in Drug Case

Criminal Court "C" Judge Ousman F. Feika has denied a bail request from former Vice President Jewel Howard-Taylor, 63, who faces a 10-count indictment that includes drug importation, unlicensed exportation and sale, illicit trafficking in transit, abuse of office, criminal conspiracy, criminal facilitation, money laundering and aiding a crime. She remains under court-supervised home detention at her Congo Town residence.

At the center of the ruling was a dispute over whether Liberia's 2023 Controlled Drugs and Substances Act could be applied to conduct that defense lawyers say began in 2022, before the law took effect. Taylor's attorneys, Cllrs. Kabineh M. Ja'neh, J. Lavali Supuwood and Finley Karngar, argued that applying the 2023 law to earlier conduct would violate constitutional protections against retroactive criminal laws.

Judge Feika rejected that argument, applying Section 4.6 of the Criminal Procedure Law governing continuing offenses. The court found that alleged financial transactions tied to the case continued through August 2026, meaning the course of conduct extended well past the law's 2023 effective date and therefore falls within its scope.

Taylor's bail motion is the latest step in a case that has drawn significant public attention in Liberia. Her legal team is reported to be weighing an appeal to the Supreme Court to seek a broader constitutional review of how continuing offenses are prosecuted under the drug law. No trial date has yet been confirmed.

Liberia Today will continue to follow the case as it moves through the courts.