The war of words over judicial independence has intensified, as Thaddeus Sory, legal practitioner and lead counsel for the petitioners seeking the removal of the Chief Justice, responded forcefully to recent remarks by Godfred Yeboah Dame, the former Attorney General and lawyer for the Chief Justice.
The heated exchange began when Dame alleged that Sory is obsessed with him and accused him of undermining judicial independence.
However, in a searing rebuttal, Sory questioned the coherence and intent behind Dame’s statements, casting doubt on whether Dame even authored the remarks attributed to him.
“I honestly don’t believe Cry Baby wrote the response. For if he did, it’s quite incongruous how he admits I have NPP-affiliated clients, yet in an interview with Joy FM, insists that because I represent a client who has presented a petition against the Chief Justice, the petition is NDC-driven? This is incongruous logic.”
Thaddeus Sory
Sory pointed to what he called repeated contradictions in Dame’s behavior, referencing a courtroom incident from October last year.
He noted that Dame had objected to his representation of the Speaker of Parliament, only to later complain when Sory did not appear, having complied with Dame’s initial protest.
He recounted the media frenzy that followed and accused Dame of fueling public outrage: a move that, in Sory’s view, created the very obsession Dame now decries.
Sory went on to claim that Dame has developed a habit of fixating on him in public forums, most recently during a Joy FM interview in which his name again surfaced without prompt.
“That’s how Cry Baby earned my last response,” Sory noted, suggesting that his public critiques have always been reactive rather than premeditated.
Sory denied any obsession on his part and questioned how he could be obsessed with someone he claims to have corrected publicly on fundamental legal principles.
He also recalled how Dame was again corrected in open court for an error in injunction procedure—this time by Justice Amadu.
Jakpa Case Fuels Judicial Independence Dispute
Thaddeus Sory further attacked Dame’s handling of the Richard Jakpa case, which he referred to as “controversially decided,” arguing that Dame’s charges were flawed.
Sory reminded the public that it was he who raised the legal point that the Court of Appeal eventually upheld against Dame.
He challenged Dame’s confidence that the Supreme Court would have reversed the ruling if the Attorney-General hadn’t withdrawn the appeal: “Let me just add: the notice of appeal was incompetent. If you want to know why, I’ll be happy to explain.”
Sory mocked Dame for revisiting a case from 2009 in an attempt to discredit him—an effort Sory believes only reinforces who the truly obsessed party is. “Who was Jakpa’s lawyer? You are right, that was me…”
He also jabbed Dame’s rhetorical flair, accusing him of overusing the word “incongruous,” saying his understanding of the term is “severely warped.”
Legal Ethics Take Center Stage
Narrowing it down to the professional ethics, Thaddeus Sory ridiculed Dame’s claim that his critiques were unethical.
He noted that Dame frequently uses radio and social media to publicly argue his cases—a practice specifically cautioned against in Rule 38 of the legal profession’s code of conduct.
“There’s a specific rule that forbids it. See Rule 38 of our professional conduct guidelines. Yet somehow, you’ve never been sanctioned by the General Legal Council [GLC].”
Thaddeus Sory
He questioned why Dame hasn’t faced professional consequences, despite allegedly breaching ethical standards by criticizing judges in public without reading their judgments.
Sory implied that Dame was engaging in the very conduct he condemns in others.
“Is it ethical for a lawyer to lose a case in the Court of Appeal and, without even reading the judgment, take to the radio to criticise and literally vilify the Judges?”
Thaddeus Sory
As he closed his response, Sory accused Dame of delusion and narcissism, suggesting that Dame’s recent statements serve more as self-praise than reasoned argument. “The entire response is an exercise in self-adulation. Reality is coming, and the next parts will help him find it.”
Sory’s latest comments contribute to an increasingly public and personal feud that threatens to overshadow the more pressing issue of judicial independence—a principle both lawyers claim to defend but seem to interpret very differently.
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