Court backtracks after lawyers take issue with lack of timely bail hearings
Published:Thursday | August 15, 2024 | 12:10 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Attorneys attached to the Cornwall Bar Association (CBA) yesterday morning took issue with the court after learning that there would be a protracted delay in the handling of their clients’ cases, including matters which are set before the Western Regional Gun Court.
However, the matter, which would have seen cases delayed until September 16, was resolved when the court reversed itself and took the decision to send the cases in question back to the parish courts from which they originated for hearings next week.
Attorney-at-law Michael Hemmings, the president of the CBA, told The Gleaner that the issue stemmed from the court’s attempt to follow their yearly summer break tradition, which would see them only handling new cases at this time of the year.
“What normally happens is that, during the summer period, court would normally sit on a Wednesday to facilitate new matters, because the court goes on judicial break during this time,” explained Hemmings. “The Circuit Court and the Gun Court resume on September 16, and I gather there were no directives from the Chief Justice [Bryan Sykes] as to what should happen with the Western Regional Gun Court.”
According to Hemmings, not having the matters dealt with would negatively impact persons in custody, who would be left in limbo until September 16.
“Persons are in custody, and the stark reality is that persons are going to have to wait until September 16. What I know normally happens is that, in August, they would set some dates to facilitate new matters,” said Hemmings. “The directives can come from the chief justice to make a decision as to what is to happen for matters, but that was not done this time around.”
Lambert Johnson, another CBA-affiliated attorney, who has clients who would have been affected by the protracted delay, is suggesting that a judge should be appointed to hear matters during the summer period, so that defendants who are in custody will not have to wait long periods to get bail hearings.
“It is a situation that comes up most years because August is the holiday period. So, when that happens, there is a difficulty with judges. They need to have somebody assigned for court during what they call the summer holidays or the summer break, to ensure that accused persons are not prejudiced in terms of bail, that is, for those who deserve bail,” said Johnson.
“It seems as if they recognised [during Wednesday’s sitting] that they could not have the men waiting until September 16 for court. For those matters in St James, it turned out that the parish court judge heard the applications for bail, and the others, whether for Hanover, Trelawny or Westmoreland, those were sent back to those parishes for a date next week,” said Johnson, in explaining how the situation was resolved.
Efforts to get a comment from the Court Administration Division were unsuccessful.