Letter of the Day | Elimination of jury trials an affront to justice

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The current bill before Parliament to amend the Gun Court Act to now make it mandatory for murder trials to be conducted without a jury is the clearest indication yet that the ultimate intention is to extinguish trials by jury in Jamaica.

What is perhaps equally alarming is that since the introduction of the bill a few weeks ago, there appears not to be a single voice of concern. Is this silence to be taken that there is an acquiescence to this proposal, or is it that we have become so battle-worn and numb to the dictates of a few who are bent on whittling away our fundamental rights?

In what appears to have been the basis for the introduction of the bill, the minister of justice recently indicated publicly that there was a shortage of jurors in certain cases of murder involving the use of an illegal firearm because of fear on their part. This, he noted, added to significant delays in the trial of such cases.

It would be interesting to see the empirical data in support of the minister's point, since to begin with jurors are never told nor are they made aware of beforehand, the type of case they are being empanelled for. How then would a shortage of jurors arise in such circumstances?

Incidentally, the very bill that seeks to amend the Gun Court Act does not give any explanation (in the way of its memorandum of objects and reasons) for its necessity, as is often the case with other bills. Could it be that if indeed there is a shortage of jurors, it may just be related to the paltry sums being paid with not even any allowance for victuals for their service, which oftentimes last for long periods? Surely, the solution to this cannot be to discard trials by jury!

Then again, the cynic may argue that this move is to hold specific individuals 'accountable', namely, judges, when verdicts do not pander to the wishes of some as it is far less attractive to blame the nameless faces of jury of seven or 12.

As it is already, recent legislation has diluted our once-robust jury system. The number of jurors required to preside over the vast majority of jury trials has been reduced from 12 to seven, and so, too, the number of challenges lawyers have to reject a juror in a trial.

The exclusivity of a jury trial is no more, as there is option for such cases to be tried by judge alone. New legislation, such as the Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act, 2014 (Anti-Gang Legislation) and Law Reform (Fraudulent Transactions)(Special Provisions) Act (lotto scam legislation), have created harsh penalties comparable to murder and sexual offences, yet in the two former examples cited, they do not enjoy the benefit of having a jury determine guilt or innocence.

If the purpose of the bill now before Parliament is to eliminate jury trials in gun murder cases because of the alleged fear factor that jurors have, dare I ask what will be the solution to the fear factor that faces many electors when they go to the polls?

I rest my case!

Peter Champagnie is an attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and peter.champagnie@gmail.com.