The criminal justice system is on course to implement new rules by the end of September to accelerate the processing of criminal cases, Attorney General Dale Marshall announced on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting of the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, Marshall outlined the proposed changes recommended by the Law Reform Commission, chaired by Sir David Simmons.
The new system will introduce a preliminary hearing before a magistrate, allowing the accused to enter a plea. The case will then promptly move to the High Court for a “sufficiency hearing”, where a judge will assess the evidence to determine if there are grounds to proceed to trial.
“The criminal procedural rules have been with the Bar [Association] since May; it’s also been with the commissioner [of police]; it’s also been with the office of the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions],” Marshall said. He added that a symposium with all stakeholders would be held to address any issues before implementation.
The attorney general highlighted recent improvements in case disposal rates, citing the resolution of 584 cases in the past 18 months, including 67 murder cases. This progress was attributed to the appointment of additional judges and other systemic changes.
Marshall said: “When we came to government, they only had two judges; there is no way two judges could have disposed of 584 cases. Of those 584 cases, 67 were murder cases. I think it’s an indication that the things we have been putting in place have worked.”
However, Marshall emphasised that more work is needed, revealing that 1 600 indictable matters are currently awaiting trial.
He said: “Just two weeks ago I asked the DPP to give me the full number of indictable matters awaiting trial. Her response was 1 600. Now if we got through 584 in 18 months, you can imagine what it would take to get through 1 600 indictable matters. In addition to that, more people are being charged every day. We can not allow what has been pervasive, where we have cases that date back to 2012, 2011, one or two back as far as 2007 . . . having cases of that age is unfair to the people who have been charged, unfair to the victims, and unfair to the system.” (SB)
