Published: Sunday April 19, 2009
Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter
Justice Gayle
HIGH COURT Judge Martin Gayle has made a special appeal for the speedy implementation of case management and plea-bargaining in criminal matters to reduce the huge backlog of cases which has been slowing down the justice system for years.
Gayle made the appeal on Wednesday after officially opening the Easter session of the Home Circuit Court on King Street, downtown Kingston, and was informed that there were 385 cases on the trial list and that most had been traversed from previous court sessions.
Jeremy Taylor, acting deputy director of public prosecutions, called for amendment to the Jury Act so that majority verdicts could be taken in non-capital murder cases. He also expressed concern about the large number of murder and sexual-offence cases on the court list.
Ministry of Justice officials reported in January that regulations accompanying the Criminal Justice (Plea Negotiations and Agreements) Act 2005 were being finalised for tabling in Parliament. This new law would give the director of public prosecutions statutory authority to engage in discussions and make bargains with accused persons in certain felony cases. It would also allow the accused to know beforehand that their sentences would be reduced.
Many challenges
Gayle, in commenting on the backlog of cases, said, "The continued fallout from the global economic crisis has brought many challenges and the judicial system has not been spared." He said the ever-growing criminal list was a clear indication of "the challenges ahead of us". He added that plea-bargaining and case management would significantly reduce the backlog of cases and save judicial time.
Referring to the issues of widespread economic hardship, Gayle said, "It is particularly worth remembering that compassion and forbearance in the exercise of legal rights will not only assist the less fortunate to meet their daily needs in the short term, but in the longer term, will almost certainly make good social sense."
Bargaining worked elsewhere
George Soutar, president of the Advocates' Association of Jamaica, says there is no reason that plea-bargaining would not work for Jamaica, which has a tremendous backlog of cases. Experience in other countries showed that plea-bargaining assisted the process of reducing the backlog of cases, he said.
Taylor, in giving a breakdown of the cases, said perhaps the system of justice had not kept pace with the growth in crime. He called for amendment to the Jury Act so that majority verdicts could be given in non-capital murder cases. He pointed out that there were 17 murder cases on the list for retrials because juries had not arrived at unanimous verdicts.
Taylor also called on defence lawyers to advise accused persons to plead guilty in circumstances where the cases against them were overwhelming, as, in such cases, the court could give "a discount" in sentencing.
Perhaps the four criminal courts at the Home Circuit Court were not enough to deal with the number of cases, he said, as a court could only try one case at a time.
Taylor pledged the whole-hearted effort of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that as many cases as possible would be tried during the current Easter term, which ends on July 31.
Of the 385 cases on the trial list, 203 are murder cases and 139 are sexual-offence cases. The Hilary term, which began on January 7 and ended on April 3, had 407 cases for trial. Of that number 59 cases were disposed of and 348 cases traversed to the current term. A total of 37 new cases have been added to the traversed list.
Formidable trial list
Gayle described the trial list as formidable and said emphasis must be placed on clearing the backlog, so there must be fewer adjournments in cases set for trial. Disclosing that major dents had been made in the backlog of cases in the Gun Court, Gayle said he was positive that the trend would continue this term.
Attorney-at-law Paul Beswick pledged support on behalf of the private Bar, and agreed that from the figures given, there was a daunting task ahead. He hoped that the cases would move with expediency.
HIGH COURT Judge Martin Gayle has made a special appeal for the speedy implementation of case management and plea-bargaining in criminal matters to reduce the huge backlog of cases which has been slowing down the justice system for years.
Gayle made the appeal on Wednesday after officially opening the Easter session of the Home Circuit Court on King Street, downtown Kingston, and was informed that there were 385 cases on the trial list and that most had been traversed from previous court sessions.
Jeremy Taylor, acting deputy director of public prosecutions, called for amendment to the Jury Act so that majority verdicts could be taken in non-capital murder cases. He also expressed concern about the large number of murder and sexual-offence cases on the court list.
Ministry of Justice officials reported in January that regulations accompanying the Criminal Justice (Plea Negotiations and Agreements) Act 2005 were being finalised for tabling in Parliament. This new law would give the director of public prosecutions statutory authority to engage in discussions and make bargains with accused persons in certain felony cases. It would also allow the accused to know beforehand that their sentences would be reduced.
Many challenges
Gayle, in commenting on the backlog of cases, said, "The continued fallout from the global economic crisis has brought many challenges and the judicial system has not been spared." He said the ever-growing criminal list was a clear indication of "the challenges ahead of us". He added that plea-bargaining and case management would significantly reduce the backlog of cases and save judicial time.
Referring to the issues of widespread economic hardship, Gayle said, "It is particularly worth remembering that compassion and forbearance in the exercise of legal rights will not only assist the less fortunate to meet their daily needs in the short term, but in the longer term, will almost certainly make good social sense."
Bargaining worked elsewhere
George Soutar, president of the Advocates' Association of Jamaica, says there is no reason that plea-bargaining would not work for Jamaica, which has a tremendous backlog of cases. Experience in other countries showed that plea-bargaining assisted the process of reducing the backlog of cases, he said.
Taylor, in giving a breakdown of the cases, said perhaps the system of justice had not kept pace with the growth in crime. He called for amendment to the Jury Act so that majority verdicts could be given in non-capital murder cases. He pointed out that there were 17 murder cases on the list for retrials because juries had not arrived at unanimous verdicts.
Taylor also called on defence lawyers to advise accused persons to plead guilty in circumstances where the cases against them were overwhelming, as, in such cases, the court could give "a discount" in sentencing.
Perhaps the four criminal courts at the Home Circuit Court were not enough to deal with the number of cases, he said, as a court could only try one case at a time.
Taylor pledged the whole-hearted effort of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to ensure that as many cases as possible would be tried during the current Easter term, which ends on July 31.
Of the 385 cases on the trial list, 203 are murder cases and 139 are sexual-offence cases. The Hilary term, which began on January 7 and ended on April 3, had 407 cases for trial. Of that number 59 cases were disposed of and 348 cases traversed to the current term. A total of 37 new cases have been added to the traversed list.
Formidable trial list
Gayle described the trial list as formidable and said emphasis must be placed on clearing the backlog, so there must be fewer adjournments in cases set for trial. Disclosing that major dents had been made in the backlog of cases in the Gun Court, Gayle said he was positive that the trend would continue this term.
Attorney-at-law Paul Beswick pledged support on behalf of the private Bar, and agreed that from the figures given, there was a daunting task ahead. He hoped that the cases would move with expediency.
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