Disposal of issues … Trial, Preliminary Investigation and Paper Transfer
== The Court Journal ==
By Renay Sambach
Disposal of issues …
Kaieteur News – Today we will continue to explore the different aspects of the judicial system at Magistrates Court level. In this article, we will explore the different approaches that Magistrates use to get rid of issues.
At the Magistrates’ Court, there are three different ways of trying matters. For the less serious offenses, a trial is held, while the Magistrate can either conduct a preliminary investigation (PI) or deliver a paper for the serious offenses.
For the serious offenses, the defendant is not allowed to plead guilty or not guilty, as the matter has been set unequivocally. For those offenses, the Magistrate does not impose a sentence but controls whether or not sufficient evidence was presented to the court for the matter to be released or for the defendant to be tried High The relevant district court.
However, while a PI can last for more than five years, most Magistrates prefer this approach, and the paper delivery delivered in 2008 can last up to 45 days.
TEST
Some issues can be eliminated at Magistrates Court level. Some of those issues are: larch accusations such as ‘simple larceny,’ ‘person larceny,’ ‘breaking and entering and slapping,’ assault charges, threatening and abusive language.
Although those offenses are still criminal acts, those matters can be disposed of in the Magistrates Court. At the defendant’s first court appearance he / she is required to plead guilty or not guilty to the charge after the Magistrate has read it. On a guilty plea, based on the offense, the Magistrate can either sentence the defendant to no more than five years, impose a fine or order the defendant to do community service.
In some cases, some people get fined and sentence, but the Magistrate would also consider the defendant’s honesty and with a not guilty plea, the matter will have to go to trial.
The defendant either gets bail or is remanded in custody, and a date for reporting and fixing is set. This will be based on the readiness of the prosecutor, who is expected to have his / her file completed and ready for trial.
With the file completed, a trial date is then set. During the proceedings, the prosecutor will call his witnesses to testify orally in court. All witnesses who testify are subject to cross-examination by either the defendant or his attorney.
The Magistrate usually takes written notes of the evidence of each witness called a long-handed deposition. Upon completion of that process, the defendant / attorney will then present his submission to the court and the prosecutor will also submit.
A no-case submission to the court occurs when the defense highlights aspects of the matter to support their claims that the prosecution has no issue against their client.
When the Magistrate has finished reading the submissions of both parties, a date will be set for adjudicating the submissions. If the Magistrate upholds the defense’s no-cause submission, the matter will be dismissed. However, the Magistrate may also find that there is sufficient evidence against the defendant.
In the Magistrates’ Court, a person found guilty of a crime can only be sentenced to a total of five years, and can be fined.
PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION (PI)
For the more serious crimes such as rape, murder, manslaughter, treason and causing death by dangerous driving, among other offenses, a Magistrates’ Court cannot be tried.
For those matters, the Magistrate may either conduct a preliminary inquiry (PI) or deliver a paper.
Magistrates often choose to uphold a PI in an issue, although it can take more than five years to complete.
Like the case, the Magistrate notes each witness’s statement and records and marks all items presented to the court as exhibits.
After the prosecution has called all its witnesses to testify, then the prosecution can close their case.
Most prosecutors are hopeful that the evidence they would have produced for the court would satisfy the Magistrate to present a prima facie case, so that a reasonable jury can convict the defendant.
If the Magistrate finds that a prima facie case is being made against the accused, he may choose to lead his defense or not.
A defendant, who chooses to lead his own defense, may call his witnesses to testify in the matter, but a defendant who refuses to lead his defense would automatically be committed to stand trial. The accused will then join the line of the accused awaiting trial at the next convenient sitting of the criminal jurisdiction of the High Court.
It should be noted that the assessee does not consider the accused matter until court staff type the Magistrate’s long-standing deposits. A long hand can take anywhere from a few weeks to years to complete.
In addition, there are many aspects of the PI that cause delays.
The Magistrate must not only set the matter to accommodate other PIs, summary civil matters, summary criminal matters, inquests, and other statutory and administrative functions, but also the police prosecution system and defense counsel’s schedule , and the number of witnesses and the availability of witnesses must be considered.
Although this method is commonly used by Magistrates for serious offenses, the PI in issue usually takes years to complete so this method often causes a backlog in cases.
PAPER COMMITTEE
The Criminal Law Procedure (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2008 introduced a system known in ‘other jurisdictions’ as a Traditions Paper. ‘
Paper delivery is when witness statements and documentary evidence are tendered to the Court without the witnesses being present at court and devised and marked as exhibits.
Based on the written records, the Magistrate will take approximately 45 days before giving a judgment as to whether there is sufficient evidence for a prima facie case to be made for the accused to stand trial in the High Court.
In addition, the Magistrate may also consider submissions from counsel that there is insufficient evidence or allow cross-examination of witnesses before making his decision on whether to discharge the accused for trial. It should be noted that Magistrates are not expected to allow the cross examination of nausea ad as this would defeat the purpose of the act.
Issues have been raised in the past as to whether the Magistrate should receive further guidance in the form of regulations with appropriate safeguards to ensure that the process would be applied fairly.
We’ve come to the end of this week’s article, but join me next Sunday for more useful information about our court system.