Justice Minister Wants Court Cases to be Ready Within Three Months

Minister of Justice, Hon. Delroy Chuck, has reiterated the call for stakeholders in the criminal justice system to play their part in ensuring that cases before the courts are speedily dealt with.

He said that the Government is focused on addressing delays in the courts as part of the fight against crime.

Minister Chuck, who was addressing a justice sensitisation session in Falmouth, Trelawny recently, said the Ministry is working to ensure that the necessary files and reports for trial are completed within three months.

He noted that in many jurisdictions, such as Canada and the United States of America, cases have to be ready within 70 days.

“If we should achieve this and files are ready in three months, I will be seeking the cooperation of and calling on the judges to get the cases going. We are also going to do everything in our power to ensure that not only are the cases completed, but that we have enough judges and prosecutors to get things moving in our courts,” Minister Chuck insisted.

He appealed for investigative officers to ensure that case files are properly prepared, noting that, too often, witnesses cannot be found and forensic reports are not ready for court.

“Information from the Forensic Lab is that files, certificates, ballistic and forensic reports are ready, but not picked up in time for the court cases by the investigating officers. These are the things that sometimes cause cases to be put off each time,” he pointed out.

Turning to other issues, the Justice Minister said that Government will be mounting the pressure on lotto scammers, including increasing extraditions.

“I believe that the signals must be sent so that those who think that this activity is good will seek to quickly mend their ways … before it is too late for them. These lotto scammers don’t realise the tragedy and the hurt that they bring to these families in North America and other countries,” he pointed out.

The objective of the Ministry’s sensitisation sessions is to educate community leaders on justice services.

These include pastors, principals, senior teachers, guidance counsellors, justices of the peace, and other upstanding members of the community.