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Stories by Barbara Gayle

Judges are overburdened declared Justice Campbell - The end of a long and distinguished career on the bench and in public service

Published:Thursday | November 24, 2016 | 8:12 PMBarbara Gayle

The heavy workload for the nation's judges has been described by Mr Justice Lennox Campbell, CD, QC, as being onerous and burdensome, and he is calling for judges to be given time out of court to write judgments."The judgments that are being...

Painful hell! Multi-million dollar award little comfort for plane crash victim

Published:Saturday | October 29, 2016 | 12:42 PMBarbara Gayle

Eight years after 43-year-old Christopher Watson suffered serious injuries when a small airplane in which he was a passenger crashed in the Blue Mountains, he is still suffering from severe back pains, headaches and daily nightmares of the accident....

Fearful convicts - Long delays in transcript preparation frustrating appeals process

Published:Friday | October 21, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The long delay in notes of evidence being sent from the Supreme Court to the Court of Appeal is having an adverse effect on the justice system, and is even forcing some appellants in custody to abandon their appeals against convictions and sentences...

Firearm fraud! - Alert judge stops corrupt cops who wanted man sentenced on gun charges

Published:Saturday | October 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

A seeming attempt by members of the police force to fabricate evidence to secure the conviction of a Corporate Area man on a firearm charge has been thwarted by an alert judge.There has also been a call for Police Commissioner Carl Williams to...

Cop sliced for $100 cheese - Policewoman loses job as simple-larceny appeal fails

Published:Thursday | September 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

A slice of cheese valued at a little more than $100 has cost a policewoman her job and given the Court of Appeal the chance to rule on whether the act of shoplifting is done only when a person leaves an establishment without paying for the goods."...

Chuck not backing down in contention with judges

Published:Monday | September 26, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says he is not seeking to interfere with the independence of the judiciary, but is insisting that he will not back down from calls for judges to hand down judgments expeditiously, as litigants should not take years to...

Judges and Chuck on collision course

Published:Sunday | September 25, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

Quiet for months as Delroy Chuck intensified his pressure for more quality work, judges in Jamaica's high courts will hold talks today in a special meeting called over the latest chastisement from the justice minister.Last week, Chuck reiterated...

Heavy court backlog to get additional relief - Sentencing guidelines coming for those who do not waste the court's time

Published:Friday | September 16, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The disparity in sentences handed out to persons who plead guilty in criminal cases could soon be a thing of the past.Sentencing guidelines for judges have been drafted, and once approved, persons who enter guilty pleas will have some certainty...

Bailiff blues - Court compound eviction notice sparks concern

Published:Thursday | September 15, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

Corporate Area head bailiff Augustus Sherriah is seeking the intervention of Chief Justice Zaila McCalla, as he challenges a notice to move from the compound of the civil division of the Corporate Area Parish Court.Sherriah uses the downtown...

Fix sentencing error - Judges urged to treat persons who plead guilty fairly

Published:Monday | September 5, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The recent announcement from Justice Minister Delroy Chuck that he has given instructions to the chief parliamentary counsel for changes to the plea bargaining legislation to be treated as priority should be good news to members of the private Bar....

When doctors foul up - Lawyer seeking more than $1M for family of policewoman who died after botched surgery

Published:Wednesday | August 17, 2016 | 2:40 PMBarbara Gayle

Attorney-at-law Anthony Williams is hoping to send a message to professionals, particularly medical personnel, as he embarks on a legal battle to seek compensation for the son of a policewoman who died from an alleged botched operation."We want to...

Extradite them! - Justice minister vows to sign requests for scammers as soon as court orders them

Published:Saturday | July 30, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is warning that tough measures will be implemented to break the back of the lottery scam, which is believed to be at the heart of much of the violence that has plagued western Jamaica since last year.Among the measures...

Ex-cop cries for justice - Dismissed policeman continues 24-year fight to clear his name

Published:Friday | July 22, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

A former corporal of police who reportedly risked his life to save two women during an attack by four gunmen in December 1991, is expressing disappointment that instead of being commended, he was dismissed from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)....

Legal loophole - Jamaica has no law to charge persons who wilfully attempt to spread HIV

Published:Thursday | July 14, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

There are growing calls in local legal circles to implement laws to make it a criminal offence for persons to wilfully and knowingly spread the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Although it is reported that Jamaica has an estimated 32,000 persons...

Battle for 'dead lef' - Corporate Area resident waiting 37 years for dad's estate

Published:Friday | June 24, 2016 | 12:46 PMBarbara Gayle

The legal battle for Malcolm Dymally to get his father's estate, which includes three houses in the Kingston 10 area, began 37 years ago when he was only six years old and is not likely to end anytime soon."I am not certain when it is going to end...

Demoted and dumped - Former court administrator seeks justice after being retired at 43

Published:Friday | June 10, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

When Deborah Gardner graduated from the University of the West Indies and started her career in the government service in 1994, she was looking forward to serving her country with distinction for the rest of her working life.Now the chances of doing...

Spared by Corrections - Convicted murderer saved from additional prison time by alert prison officials

Published:Friday | June 10, 2016 | 2:35 PMBarbara Gayle

Alert correctional officers last week saved 35-year-old Dwayne Tulloch from spending 25 more years in prison than he was sentenced to.Tulloch was sentenced in May 2011 to life imprisonment for murder and ordered to serve 15 years before he became...

No space for sisters - Education ministry probing case of siblings who have dropped out of school

Published:Friday | June 3, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The education ministry has started a probe into claims that a teenage girl in the Corporate Area has been out of school for the past four years because she was not placed in...

Damaged by drugs charge - Wife walks out of marriage after husband’s weed trial drags on for four years

Published:Friday | May 27, 2016 | 10:36 AMBarbara Gayle

Four years after being hit with an illegal drugs charge, 30-year-old Germaine Hylton of Montego Bay, St James, is a free man, but he remains bitter that the State charged him for a crime he did not commit. Also, his wife walked out of the marriage...

We’re not sitting on the BENCH - Low salaries, poor conditions cause many lawyers to reject serving as judges

Published:Wednesday | May 18, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The deplorable conditions under which judges work, the inadequate salaries they are paid and the level of sacrifice they are called on to make are among the main reasons why...

'Protect first-time offenders' - Appeal Court overturns landlord’s 20-day prison sentence

Published:Thursday | May 19, 2016 | 12:16 PMBarbara Gayle

A landlord who broke the law and forced a delinquent tenant out of his property has not only received sympathy from other landlords, but also from the Court of Appeal which overturned a 20-day prison sentence imposed on him.The Court of Appeal has...

End delays from the Bench! - Bar Association calls on judges to speedily hand down judgments

Published:Thursday | May 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The Jamaican Bar Association (JBA) is putting pressure on Chief Justice Zaila McCalla to act to ensure that judges hand down their judgments quickly to end the frustration of litigants, some of whom have been waiting for 10 years.Last week, the JBA...

Ex prisoner fighting to survive

Published:Wednesday | May 11, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

A judge's error during summation to a jury has resulted in freedom for 35-year-old electrician Tino Jackson, who is now trying to put his life back together after spending four years in prison.Although Jackson is happy to be a free man, he says...

Wrongfully detained? Woman claims she was illegally locked up on trumped up charges

Published:Tuesday | May 10, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

A Jamaican woman who spent three weeks in custody before she was taken before the court on a charge of possession of three ounces of ganja, is complaining that her detention was unfair.Donnasha Dobson, a 27-year-old bartender told The Gleaner that...

Death sentence for hanging

Published:Sunday | May 8, 2016 | 12:00 AMBarbara Gayle

The decisions over the last 23 years by the United Kingdom-based Privy Council, Jamaica's final appellate court, have not only removed the noose from the necks of almost 200 inmates on death row, but have significantly reduced the imposition of...

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