Judge-only trials no less fair

A leading jurist believes that jury trials will remain a feature of the region’s judicial landscape for some time.

The assessment has come from president of the Court of Appeal of the Turks and Caicos, Justice Dennis Morrison, who said that was the case even though research had shown judge-only trials were no less fair than jury trials.

He made the point while delivering a lecture hosted virtually by Impact Justice entitled Trial by Jury or Judge Alone: The Commonwealth Caribbean Position.

Justice Morrison, who is also the former president of the Court of Appeal of Jamaica, explained that jury trials had been around in the Caribbean for a long time and were seen as “a safeguard” against oppression and dictatorship.

“When we are talking about abolishing jury trials we have to bear in mind that we are talking about something that has existed for a very long time and has been revered in very many contexts,” Justice Morrison said.

“The overriding consideration for any criminal trial must be that it is not only fair but also seem to be fair. Jury trial has traditionally achieved this goal by ensuring public participation in the system of criminal justice and thereby broadening the basis of adjudication. To that extent, its cardinal virtues remain unimpaired by the passage of time. A jury trial is therefore likely to remain a significant feature of the Commonwealth Caribbean criminal justice landscape, certainly in relation to the most serious offences of murder and treason.”

However, Justice Morrison said in an evolving world judge-only trials were growing in popularity.

He pointed to the fact that they were seen as more transparent as judges had to give written judgements while a judge sitting alone was “easier to protect” from threats of intimidation.

Also, he said, the COVID-19 pandemic had made judge-only trials a more suitable alternative.

“The world changes and not all things remain the same. There can be no doubt that the revolution in information technology, the widespread participation in social media, the call for transparency in decision-making and the still ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, to name but four of the factors, have caused fresh challenges to the efficacy of jury trials in the modern era. Judge-alone trial…is no less fair than jury trial,” Justice Morrison noted.

“The entire world has been in the grips of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus. Jury trials have proved difficult and potentially hazardous given the danger of assembling jurors in an open court and thus exposing court staff and other court users to infection by each other and the wider public.”

Justice Morrison said across the Caribbean there were varying levels of acceptance to judge-only trials. (randybennett@barbadotoday.bb)