Editorial | Of COVID, remote trials and broadband

We appreciate Chief Justice Bryan Sykes’ frustration at the lack of video-conferencing technology at many, if not all, of Jamaica’s major police stations and lock-ups, and hope that his public airing of his concern will help to accelerate the Government’s efforts to install these systems at all law-enforcement facilities.

However, this newspaper questions Justice Sykes’ implied proposition that were a video-conferencing link available at lock-ups where at least two of the defendants are being held, it would have been alright to continue, at least for a time, the trial of the 33 members of the so-called One Don gang, who are charged under the criminal organisation law. That would have been a risk – even if a low one – for the spread of COVID-19, which ought not to be entertained, especially by someone in the chief justice’s position.

This trial, no doubt, is a massive and complex undertaking. The sheer number of defendants, of itself, tells a story. A case has to be proven against each one of being involved in the alleged enterprise. Each must have an opportunity to defend himself. Another element of the trial is that the key prosecution witnesses will testify from remote locations – one is already doing so –probably outside Jamaica.

The potential, therefore, is for this to be an exhaustingly long trial, eating up a major chunk of judicial time. So, it is understandable if Justice Sykes was a bit irritated that two of the case’s defendants, Owen Ormsby and Andre Golding, had tested positive for COVID-19 and were withdrawn from the hearing. In the circumstances, the chief justice was forced to adjourn the case for a fortnight, until October 19.

REMOTE HEARINGS THE NORM

But before he announced his decision, Justice Sykes made known his disappointment that all the major police stations were not equipped for video-conferencing with courtrooms, allowing for remote hearings. He said: “Eighteen months into the COVID-19 pandemic, one would have thought that by now all the main police stations would have had the capability by now. We will be pressing the police to have that capability in place at all the stations. That is now to be regarded as standard procedure.”

We agree that it should be, and that, as the chief justice said, remote hearings should become a normal part of the judicial process. Indeed, that is the declared policy of the Government, articulated often by the justice minister, Delroy Chuck.

But even if these facilities were available at the lock-up(s) where Messrs Ormsby and Golding are being held, there are real questions of whether it would have been appropriate for them to participate at any stage of the trial once they were suspected to have contracted COVID-19, even if they had no symptoms or were not seriously ill. Asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus can infect other people. That is why people suspected of having contracted the virus are required to isolate and maintain strict protocols with respect to their contact with other individuals.

In the event of a virtual trial, the accused person, we suspect, remains under guard at the remote location, even if the proceedings take place in a secure room. In addition to the guard(s), technicians to manage equipment are also likely to be present. There is, therefore, the possibility for a COVID-19-positive accused person infecting law- enforcement and judicial staff – as could happen in a regular courtroom. Which we are sure Justice Sykes appreciates and takes into account if, and when, he rules in these circumstances.

UPDATE FROM MINISTER VAZ

On the larger issue of kitting out lock-ups and police stations for remote hearings, a significant drawback, Minister Chuck said in March, was the limited broadband connectivity in some areas of the country. Even courtrooms are often affected, notwithstanding the technologies being increasingly employed in the judicial system. The situation is not unlike what happens to tens of thousands of students who have no, unstable or unaffordable Internet connectivity and are often unable to log on to their virtual classrooms.

Earlier this year, the technology minister, Daryl Vaz, announced a multi-billion-dollar project to extend broadband across Jamaica, but since then has said little about how the expanded system will be rolled out and managed, and what, if any role, other than regulator, the Government might play in the enterprise. Since Mr Vaz’s announcement, another company has been granted a licence to enter Jamaica’s telecommunications market, with a declared intention to focus on the provision of broadband services.

Clearly, the availability of broadband is critical not only for the advancement of commerce and education and for entertainment. As Minister Chuck and Justice Sykes have been pointing out, it is also important for improving the efficiency of the justice system – a too-little-heralded tool of crime-fighting in Jamaica.

An update from Minister Vaz on the status of the broadband project would be useful. It would probably assist Justice Sykes in planning the court’s programme. At the same time, Mr Chuck should say whether he has had assurances that the money will be spent on the technologies at police stations, lock-ups and prisons, over which he has no direct control.