‘No justification’ for long wait for day in court, says Justice Greaves

A judge has declared he “cannot see any justification” for the long delays in the court system.

Justice Carlisle Greaves said that if the Royal Barbados Police Force has “enough evidence” to charge an accused person then that evidence must be sufficient for the matter to proceed to trial.

He declared: “I hold the view strongly that if the police have enough evidence to charge a defendant, an accused, they must have enough evidence to be ready to proceed and I cannot see any justification whatsoever for the long delays you have had in this court system for so long.

“I cannot see any justification at all why men should be held in custody for so many years without a clue as to when they are going to have their day in court.” The judge also believed that “proactive case management” before the Magistrates’ Court and the Supreme Court must be applied if cases are to be tried within a reasonable time.

Justice Greaves was speaking on Monday as he dealt with a possession of an illegal firearm and ammunition matter in which the accused was charged in May.

“This case demonstrates what we can achieve in this jurisdiction just with a little more effort and consistency and certainty,” the judge said of the case involving Quasim Alex Ricardo Richards who was convicted on possession of having a 9mm and nine rounds of ammunition on May 18.

Justice Greaves stated that Richards approached the Supreme Court for bail back in June but was unsuccessful.

But he explained that consistent with a new policy of the criminal division which all judges now follow, the court did not leave him to meander in the system.

“The court . . . did not leave him abandoned to the prisons and the other authorities in the system unknowing to him or them when he would have his day in court and to be left withering in the confines of the prison, as have happened so much in the past where persons charged have found themselves withering in the prisons for years before they could receive their hearing,” he said. The judge added that the prosecutor was told to pursue Richards’ case with “zeal” in order to get it before the Supreme Court.

The judge continued: “The practice direction issued by these courts in 2020 anticipates and states clearly that the intent of these courts is to arrive at a position where defendants in this jurisdiction can feel confident that they receive a trial within three months of the day of the indictment but not more than six months. This case demonstrates what can be achieved.”

He added: “It is certainly our intent, in the criminal division, certainly it is mine to in short time never to be subject to the criticism again that we so often receive about the inherent delay which has occurred in our court justice system.

“I would advise those persons who find themselves charged in the future to indicate at the earliest opportunity when they appear before the magistrate what their intention is. If your intention is to plead guilty to the offence, say that.”

Justice Greaves recalled that this was the practice when he sat as a Bridgetown Magistrate in the 1990s, a period of “record committals”.

He added that Richard’s case demonstrated what proactive case management can lead to but it required “a lot of work” on the part of prosecutors, judges and other court officials.

“It is stressful but I hope that by this case we are able to demonstrate what can be achieved,” the judge said. “If we are able to meet these goals we will build confidence in our community. They will see that matters, serious matters are speedily processed [and] they will more likely [want to] cooperate with the investigating parties.

“It will also bring to the attention of those who are prepared to commit offences against members of our community that these are serious days and the time is short.”