Chief Justice Austin Ward believes a Crown counsel may have contributed to a fiery courtroom bust-up with controversial Magistrate Edward King, according to the Bermuda Bar Association.

Crown counsel Larry Mussenden went to Hamilton Police Station accompanied by Police officers following the row with Mr. King in October.

Mr. King denied ordering Mr. Mussenden to be taken to the station in handcuffs, but did admit to calling him a coward.

The incident led to Acting Director of Public Prosecutions William Pearce making an official complaint to Mr. Justice Ward on behalf of Crown counsels and demanding that Mr. King be disciplined.

It is understood Mr. Mussenden has been taking legal advice about suing Mr.

King for alleged wrongful arrest.

The Royal Gazette revealed last month that Mr. Justice Ward decided not to recommend to Governor Thorold Masefield that Mr. King be disciplined after satisfying himself that similar incidents would not occur in the future.

Mr. Justice Ward refused to disclose whether he had reprimanded Mr. King.

But yesterday Bar Association president Richard Hector told The Royal Gazette that the Chief Justice had told him that he believed Mr. Mussenden may have contributed to the incident.

And he said Mr. King was not aware of the strength of feeling among lawyers and the public following the row. Mr. Hector said at the time that lawyers were "up in arms'' about Mr. King's behaviour.

Mr. Hector said: "We have had a meeting with the Chief Justice and he informed us that while he thought Mr. King might have reacted in a particular way, he felt that Crown counsel might have contributed in some way.

"He mentioned he had been speaking to the Governor about developments. After doing his investigation he spoke to Mr. King, who did not realise the strength of feeling about his behaviour among members of the Bar and the public.

"He feels that after speaking to him that this type of incident will not occur again and he felt he could assure us it would not recur.'' Mr. Hector said he did not know if Mr. King had been issued with a written warning about his behaviour but the Chief Justice "did bring it home to him how serious the situation is''.

"When you tell someone about concerns, it may be accepted by the person as a warning about how they behave in the future,'' Mr. Hector said. "You don't need to draw a diagram.'' He pointed out that it was the Governor, not the Chief Justice, who had the power to discipline magistrates and judges.

"The Governor knows about it so he should be keeping an eye on it (in the future),'' he added.

Austin Ward