ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC -A High Court judge Friday urged Dominicans to resist any move to replace the jury system saying, “The system cannot work without you all.”
The Anguilla-based Justice Thomas Astaphans, who served as a High Court here for the last three and a half months, told the closing of the High Court Criminal session,” said “there is some talk in different places to have judge only criminal trials.
“The system cannot work without you all. You all are the most important part of the criminal justice system. It is a part of the system that should never be removed,” he said, adding, “ I would like to suggest to the people of Dominica that that be resisted fully.”
He said that the judicial system is a democratic one, particularly the criminal system.
“Jurors represent the community, the people. Like the legislators, when they pass laws, persons elected represent the communities. That’s what they are doing. So they pass the rules on behalf of the community.
“But once somebody is tried for a criminal offense, the jury represents the community, and they speak on behalf of the community. No judge can represent the community,” said the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court judge.
Last year, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Chief Justice, Dame Janice Pereira, called for judge-alone trials in high courts across the Caribbean region.
“There can…be no compelling or objectively reasoned opposition to its implementation, and taking such measures would go a long way towards reducing the backlog of criminal cases in the OECS with no adverse effects on the fairness of the trial process,” she said.
Delivering during her feature address to mark the opening of the new law year in January last year, she said, “The criminal justice system is in dire need of robust reform. As I expressed in my previous address, the time is ripe for our governments to assist the judiciary by including in their legislative agendas criminal justice reform measures such as implementing judge-alone trials for specific case types within the context of the constitutionally guaranteed right to a fair trial.
“Further, when one considers the plethora of criminal offenses triable by a magistrate, there can, in my view, be no compelling or objectively reasoned opposition to its implementation. Taking such measures would go a long way towards reducing the backlog of criminal cases in the OECS with no adverse effects on the fairness of the trial process,” she said then.
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