From:TheBahamasWeekly.com
Supreme Court Justices and Legal Experts Strategize on Case Backlog Office of the Attorney General
By Bahamas Information Services
Nov 16, 2015 - 6:31:26 PM
Nassau, Bahamas - Supreme Court Justices strategized on how best to tackle the country’s backlog of criminal cases in an intensive workshop with a team of highly skilled experts from the United Kingdom Court System. The workshop, which took place on Thursday, November 12th 2015 at the Melia Hotel, is part of an ongoing, unprecedented effort led by the Office of the Attorney General for all stakeholders to communicate, cooperate and collaborate to strengthen the justice system.
The Hon. Dame Linda Dobbs DBE, the United Kingdom's first person of color appointed to the high courts, along with the Honourable Justice Roger Chapple, Mr. Ben Yallop, Senior Listing Officer and Mr. Stuart Hill, justice system administrator, collaborated with the justices during the half day session to address the challenges confronting the judiciary. The team will present recommendations to the Office of the Attorney General and criminal justice system stakeholders for implementation.
In her 2015 Opening of the Legal Year address, Attorney-General Senator the Hon. Allyson Maynard-Gibson, highlighted the obstacles that have slowed the criminal justice system over the last two decades. Absent witnesses, delays in transcripts, scheduling conflicts, difficulties empanelling jurors and a lack of trial preparation have all contributed to a substantial backlog of criminal cases.
Team member, Justice Roger Chapple, senior judge in London’s busiest court, faced a backlog of 1,800 criminal cases when he was appointed in 2007. Despite deep budget cuts and demoralized court personnel, through a collaborative effort, the Inner London Crown Court reduced the backlog by 1,300 cases.
“It will not happen overnight, but I am optimistic that through a combination of short-term adjustments and long-term reorganization the backlog will be significantly reduced,” said Justice Chapple. He continued, “I believe that through robust case management by judges and the collaboration of prosecution and defense counsel, Bahamians can expect a more efficient and fair justice system.”
Case management is a part of the pretrial process. The purpose of the case management hearing is to identify at an early stage the real issues in each case. Once that is done, directions can be given by judges so as to focus the trial on what is really in dispute, avoid the attendance of unnecessary witnesses and maximize the use of valuable court time.
The Attorney-General highlighted the need for all criminal justice stakeholders to work together for a more efficient and fair justice system. “I want to reiterate that this is not business as usual. The administration of justice is an important part in the fight against crime and my office is committed to ensuring that everyone is doing their part to realize the goals of Swift Justice,” she said.
The workshop was made possible by a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank to support the Government of The Bahamas in tackling the challenge of the lengthy turnaround times of criminal cases.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com -