PORT MARIA, St. Mary:
MORE THAN half of the 19 jurors who served in the St. Mary Circuit Court this month have complained that they were not familiar with most of the legal terms used in court and they were not explained to them.
They are calling on Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe who presided over the cases and used language that they did not understand to use "layman terms" in future cases or explain the legal terms.
The Registrar of the Court said the Chief Justice had nothing to say to the press when The Gleaner asked to speak with the Chief Justice about the jurors complaints.
Last week the jurors complained about the lack of layman terms being used by the Chief Justice during his address to them. They said as a result, they hoped they would not be called upon to try the remaining cases.
The jurors said they understood the clear and simple language in which Bryan Sykes, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions spoke, but they experienced difficulties with most of the words used by Justice Wolfe. According to them, the words used were new and during their deliberation they had to spend a long time with the help of a dictionary in an effort to understand the meanings. The cases dealt with last week were carnal abuse, illegal possession of firearm and murder.
The Gleaner was unable to get any comments from the court officials on the matter. However, an attorney-at-law told The Gleaner that words used in court by judges and lawyers in addressing accused or a panel of jurors were Latin phrases. The attorneys said there was a place at times for such words to be used in court. However, he said the words should not be used to confuse the witness or jurors but should be broken down to the level of persons who did not have specialised training in law. The lawyer refused to disclose some of the words used by the Chief Justice because he said the situation could create a problem for the judicial system.
The Circuit Court session continued on this week with Mr. Justice Basil Reid presiding. The Chief Justice presided from March 5 to 9.
