Fire Will Not Stop Work of Coroner’s Court

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Carol Palmer, is reassuring the public that the work of the Coroner’s Court will continue despite the fire at the location.

Mrs. Palmer said that following the interim forensic report from the police, on Thursday, December 31, the first order of business for the Coroner’s Court is to reconstruct the files, so they can schedule hearings thereafter.

“We are going to be working assiduously to find a location, so that work may recommence as early as Monday or as early thereafter as is possible,” she told JIS News.

In the meantime, a public notice from the Justice Ministry is advising persons with matters scheduled for hearing at the Court to attend the Resident Magistrate’s Court for the Corporate Area (Civil Division), located on Sutton Street in Kingston, on the date it is scheduled to be heard.

The notice also outlined that limited services such as the distribution and servicing of form D applications will also be temporarily accommodated at the Civil Court until further notice.

Form D allows a family to register a death without a post mortem being done, while the matter is being investigated.  The Coroner signs off on that form.

Mrs. Palmer also highlighted that Attendance Centre, a facility that executes Orders of the court regarding behaviour modification and re-socialisation of children in conflict with the law, usually housed at the Coroner’s Court, will be relocated.

Orders continue for the Attendance Centre and will resume as early as Monday. Ministry officials are “scouting out” some facilities to accommodate the children and maintain the services.

For the permanent relocation of the Coroner’s Court, the Ministry of Justice has been in dialogue with the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) for possible locations.

Matters in the Special Coroner’s Court will not be affected.

For further information persons should contact the Court Administrator at corporatearea.civilcourt@rmc.gov.jm, althia.dennis@rmc.gov.jm, 922-8290-2 or 922-8476.

The four-storey Coroner’s Court building on Duke Street, in downtown Kingston, caught fire on Wednesday evening (December 30), and was later put out by the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB). The cause of the blaze has still not been indicated by the fire brigade.