Peter Champagnie advises on slashing court delays in Jamaica

Peter Champagnie, GUEST COLUMNIST
(from Jamaica Gleaner)

Increasingly, over the years, the criminal justice system of this country has come under greater scrutiny by those who participate in it or those who have been affected by it…. Let’s look at the solutions.

SOLUTION #1: NIGHT COURT

As a start, the night court system that was introduced years ago could be modified. At present, night court sittings are from 5 p.m. on weekdays to 9 p.m. In respect of the Half-Way Tree Criminal Court, there are at least eight courtrooms that are available for such sittings.

However, what really obtains is that the night court operates with only one magistrate hearing cases in which accused persons do not have attorneys. These cases often involve offences that are domestic in nature or are not so serious.

SOLUTION #2: VOLUNTEER HOURS PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS

The idea of inviting private practitioners with the requisite number of years and experience at the Bar to volunteer their time to sit as night court judges in the remaining vacant courtrooms at Half-Way Tree, for example, as is practised in other jurisdictions is not something that is unrealistic and could be canvassed.

Indeed, if this idea was taken on board, it would provide a good training ground for prospective judges that would spring not only from the DPP’s office or the civil service in general, but from the private bar. It cannot be asking too much of our private practitioners to volunteer for a couple hours of their time to assist in the reduction of the case backlog.

SOLUTION #3: AMMENDING EXISTING LEGISTATION

Amendments to existing legislation and the introduction of new ones governing our criminal justice system are other methods that could be used to effectively deal with the issue of delays without any economic cost being incurred.

SOLUTION #4: FURTHER AMMENDMENT TO JURY ACT

Although recently amended, the Jury Act is one legislation that could be further amended to deal with the issue of delays at the Circuit Court level. As stated already, cases involving multiple accused are often adjourned because of insufficient numbers of jurors attending court. Within this context, there are many who would add that this is yet another reason why the jury system should be abolished and trials should be conducted by judges alone. However, there is an equal number of persons who would suggest that the jury system should be preserved.

time for compromise

Perhaps the time has come to strike a compromise and amend the Jury Act to allow an accused person or persons to elect whether they wish their case to be tried by a judge alone, or with a jury as well. Indeed, this concept is one that has being adopted in other jurisdictions.