A lawyer expressed concern that a writ he issued was changed by the Supreme Court Registrar.

Mark Diel is seeking to stay an arrest warrant issued against Andrew Hall, the Jamaican who walked free when charges of importing $1.8 million of heroin were quashed in January because he had been held without trial for almost three years.

Mr. Diel issued the summons three weeks ago to have a constitutional hearing over the arrest warrant issued by the Chief Justice Austin Ward against Mr. Hall, who is understood to now be in Jamaica.

But last Friday Mr. Diel said the Supreme Court Registrar Charlene Scott had changed his summons and placed it for a criminal case.

"I have never been in the position were someone has taken my summons, altered them, then put them under different proceedings," he told Puisne Judge Ian Kawaley.

The case was due to go ahead at 2.30 p.m. but was delayed because Mr. Diel said he had not received the affidavits back from the Registry despite the writ being issued three weeks ago.

Afterwards Mr. Diel said: "I have written to the Supreme Court Registrar asking her to list my summons where I wanted it in the first place which was on a constitutional issue and asking for it to be listed next week."