Judiciary to introduce digital recordings April 28
/ Our Today
administrator
Commencing April 28 Jamaica’s judiciary will introduce digital recordings to assist with producing court transcripts in a timely manner.
Addressing Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony for two members of the judiciary to higher office for the Easter Term, at King’s House, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes said it is in the judiciary’s continued thrust to improve efficiency in the courts.
He pointed out that over the last few years, one of the enduring problems faced by the courts was the untimely production of transcripts.
“It allows persons to go to the Court of Appeal to argue that because of the length of time that it has taken to have their appeal heard, they are [delayed] justice and, therefore, most times they are asking for the conviction to be quashed but, so far, the Court of Appeal has not acceded to that,” Sykes said.
He shared that it usually translates into a reduction in sentence if the Court of Appeal agrees and so the question of justice looms large, not just for the defendant but for the victims and relatives of the victims.
Sykes pointed to a recent case where an incident occurred in 2004 and the judge decided that because of the long delay, there would be a permanent stay issued.
“I’m not criticising the judge or anything like that, but just to make the point that the delays resulted in the case ultimately being dismissed. So, the defendant may very well be happy, but what about the victims? What about the persons whose relatives either witnessed the crime or were hoping that they would have their day in court? I think most of us would agree that an injustice was done there, because justice has to be balanced and take account of victims, defendants and the broader society that has an interest in the outcome of criminal proceedings,” he explained.
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