EDITORIAL - Mr Brady, Rev Miller and backlog in the courts

The cynics might say that Mr Harold Brady should have just given evidence at the commission of enquiry into the Christopher Coke extradition scandal, or, in the alternative, plead guilty to failing to testify without cause on the first day he turned up at the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court to answer the charge.

That is assuming that Mr Brady has anything better to do than traipsing to and from court, hanging around in a crowded precinct and listening to the barking of names in stentorian voices by a chuffed policeman, onstage for the day.

For most of the rest of accused and dawdlers, they run the gamut from tedium to anxiety, facing what, in the circumstance, seems like capricious justice.

Greater punishment

In Mr Brady's case, given the vaporous quality of the commission's report, and the all of J$500 (US$5.80) he would pay for being guilty, merely turning up to court as an accused is likely to be far greater punishment for this socially connected, high-powered lawyer.

Indeed, Mr Brady has already been to court at least three times, the latest being last Thursday, when the hearing was put off because the magistrate was "delayed". The matter has now been set for July 21.

Of course, Harold Brady's experience in the Jamaican courts, which he will remind is not his first, is not unique. Indeed, the day before Mr Brady's recent attendance at Half-Way Tree, another prominent Jamaican, the Rev Al Miller, who runs the Fellowship Tabernacle church and holds other high-profile positions, was at the same court to answer a charge of negligence over the theft of his firearm. The assigned magistrate, apparently, was completing a part-heard case.

Rev Miller has been to court on this matter more than once. He has also been to court on several occasions on the charge that he was abetting the fugitive Coke, of extradition-Manatt notoriety, although he insists he was merely escorting Coke to the US Embassy to turn himself in. All of the attendances, too, ended in adjournments.

Decade-long cases

Mr Brady's case, and the two against Rev Miller, are among the more than 40,000 that form the backlog of cases in the magistrate courts. Several thousands more languish at the Supreme Court. Civil matters are known to take upwards of a decade - and more.

Jamaican governments have announced reform projects to reduce the backlog in the courts and to improve the quality of justice received by Jamaicans. Yet, the numbers continue to grow.

Worse, despite the many declarations about tackling the problem, we do not sense there is a robust government policy, with the necessary support, at the highest level, required to break the logjam. That, in part, may be because the justice minister is either too distracted, or doesn't have the clout, or both, to get the job done.

The real brunt of these failures, and the mess in which the justice system finds itself, are not felt by the likes of Mr Brady and Rev Miller, who will likely get preferential attention when they go to court. Rather, it is the mass of poor, mostly young males who are the bulk of the accused, who grow cynical about the system and society.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.