Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine:

Newly-appointed Public Defender Earl Witter says his office will will not be influenced by external forces in its operations.

"The Office of the Public Defender, the one that I am appointed to, is not of or operating under the Government of the day or any that might succeed," Mr. Witter told persons attending the annual general meeting of the St. Catherine Homecoming Com-mittee (a group set up to assist less fortunate children) in the parish on Saturday evening.

"It is strictly independent in nature, and if it was different, it would bring dishonour to the function thereof," he added.

For the dispossessed

Mr. Witter said the aim of the office is to operate in a transient manner to heed to the cause of the poor and dispossessed whose rights might be infringed upon by agents of the state. He added that, to this end, his office will protect those persons by way of seeking settlements for state abuses.

The Public Defender said that it was as a result of the intended purpose of the office that the occupier of the chair was endowed with the constitutional protection of a judge of the Supreme Court.

In his attempts to serve the public, Mr. Witter said he will be having dialogue with persons on how they may benefit from the office. He said he will also be forming committees to assist by giving constructive criticism as a way of sharpening the way he does business for the Jamaican people.