Barbara Gayle, Staff Reporter

The Easter session of the Home Circuit Court opened Wednesday with Supreme Court Judge Almarie Sinclair Haynes expressing alarm at the large number of carnal abuse cases on the court list, and the huge backlog of cases.

There are 71 sexual offence cases, 34 of them being carnal abuse cases while 35 are rape cases. The other two are incest cases. There are 141 murder cases on the list.

The judge, along with prosecutors and defence lawyers, made impassioned pleas for steps to be taken to reduce the backlog of cases.

More judges needed

There are 255 cases on the list, 27 of which are new. The other 228 cases were traversed from the Hilary session which began on January 7 and ended on April 5.

The judge said that, for a serious dent to be made in the backlog of cases, there should be an increase in the number of judges. There are now 26 judges, including the Chief Justice. Mrs. Justice Haynes said that until that was done, the judges would endeavour to do the best they could with the resources available.

She referred to the hardships some jurors suffered, particularly those who were self-employed, and called on the Government to increase the stipend given to jurors. Jurors who are empanelled to try cases are given a stipend of $500 daily.

Hope for smooth process

The judge has expressed the hope that during this term, which ends on July 31, there will not be any problems with jurors, witnesses, defence lawyers, the police and the late arrival of prisoners.

Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Paula Llewellyn, said that last term, 48 cases were disposed of, but she explained that for four weeks, one of the four criminal courts at the Home Circuit Court had to be used to try cases from the St. Thomas Circuit Court, which was gutted by fire in February. She said that figure could be described as low when compared with the previous term, which had 206 cases and disposed of a total of 74.

Miss Llewellyn called on all stakeholders in the justice system to do their part to assist in reducing the backlog.

Defence attorney Hugh Thompson said the private Bar was going to ensure that justice was delivered smoothly and effectively.

'Sexual offence cases a growing problem'

Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer

Spanish Town, St. Catherine:

THE HIGH level of sexual offences has not gone unnoticed by the judiciary as, during the opening of the Easter session of the St. Catherine Circuit Court, High Court Judge Justice Courtney Daye made the observation that, of the 21 cases on the roster for this session, eight are related to murder and the rest to sexual offences such as rape, carnal abuse, incest and buggery.

Justice Daye said that, despite the effort to keep the roster at a minimum, sexual offences continue to rise and the 'scourge' seems not to be going away. He implored all to do whatever was in their power to bring the problem under control.

Shirking jury duty

Another concern Justice Daye expressed was that persons had been attempting to have themselves excused from jury duty on the grounds that they had medical conditions, even when there was no evidence to support the claim that they were sick and unable to perform.

He said that of the 50-odd jurors selected, 21 have written applications seeking to be excused from performing their duties as jurors.

He stressed that performing jury duty allows persons to participate in the justice system, and that there was no need to view it as a burden.

"While there are several applications to be considered and, having checked and said all these things to you, then think it not strange if your applications are not considered for the excuse you seek," he warned.