Lawyer Edward King has issued a sharp rebuke to Senator Michael Dunkley for his critique of a recent Magistrates’ Court decision.Mr Dunkley questioned a six-month conditional discharge meted out to Richard Brown, who pleaded guilty to assaulting Matthew Claridge with a bar room punch caught on CCTV last December.Sen Dunkley said Brown’s payment of $17,000 in medical expenses, plus a $10,000 goodwill sum to Mr Claridge, gave the appearance of a pay-off.After viewing footage of the incident, Mr Dunkley said it was clear “that there was something further that should have been done” in sentencing Brown, adding: “This sends totally the wrong message.”Noting that Brown is white, Sen Dunkley also asked: “Would the same thing have happened to a 23-year-old black guy?”Mr King accused Sen Dunkley of “playing the race card game, an accusation thrown repeatedly into the face of Progressive Labour Party politicians over the last several years”.In the aftermath of the decision handed down by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, Government MP Marc Bean also commented on the case.“Senator Dunkley has echoed my statement during the Motion to Adjourn of last Friday’s (June 24) House sitting, but perhaps with a focus on one particular case,” Mr Bean said.“We are in agreement that the outcome of the case that he refers too has caused great concern within our community, but this is just one of many that have come before the courts that has revealed what appears to be a lack of consistency with regards to sentencing.”However, Mr King said that in commenting on the sentence, both men “have trashed the time-honoured convention that the Legislature should not intermeddle in the decisions or affairs of the Judiciary”.The barrister asked if Sen Dunkley’s racial comparison was “thrown out by the Senator to stir up the emotions of black Bermudians, in the hope of catching their votes at the next election”.Mr King pointed out that Brown’s victim would have legally had the right to sue for damages, whether Brown had pleaded guilty or not.“Mr Claridge, by accepting that money in satisfaction of legitimate claims which he had, benefited tremendously he did not have to incur lawyer’s fees to sue Mr Brown for damages.“Those payments, out of court, were not a pay-off which bought Mr Brown a conditional discharge.”Mr King added: “Lady Justice is blind. Accused persons, standing before her, have neither colour nor nationality. Every case turns on its own facts.“If judicial discretion is taken away from those sitting on the seats of judgment, then we might as well have trials conducted by members of the legislature acting strictly in adherence to the penalties which they have mandated.”Warwick South Central MP Marc Bean was not available for response, but Mr Dunkley said: “It’s unfortunate Mr King chose to sprinkle his letter with political references and that he has chosen to fire only at me and not PLP MP Marc Bean, who was also publicly critical of the ruling.“People can draw their own conclusions about that, but I stand by my concern over the signal sent to the community by the discharge. Anyone who watched the video would surely have the same reaction and I asked the question if the court had seen the video.“Mr King and I, like virtually everyone involved in the public life of Bermuda, want the best for this Island and it is incumbent on us to work to that high goal. That was what caused me to speak out in this instance. I understand why Mr King objected to my view and I am sorry if he believes that my comments “intermeddled with the affairs of the Judiciary.”Mr King responded that he had not directed his remarks at Mr Bean “because he is a member of the PLP, which carries the label of ‘race card players’.”