Attorney says judge alone trials should be allowed if jury falls apart

By Prince Moore   

 

A local attorney believes the government should consider a suggestion by a British counsel to amend the law to allow for judge alone trials in certain situations.

 

The suggestion was made by British King's Counsel Hugh Southy, who is one of the attorneys in the appeal case for dancehall entertainer Vybz Kartel.

 

Jamaican attorney Kemoy McEkron says consideration should be given to judge alone trials where the jury is falling apart, similar to what obtained in the Vybz Kartel trial. 

 

"The judge has been there from day one of the trial, he's presiding over it; he is trained, he is able to do it, to continue the trial and...act both as a fact finder and the judge of the law," he reasoned. 

 

"[If] the jury has broken down, by law, we cannot continue. I think in the interest of justice and proper management of resources, it would not be wise in those situations for the trial to be abandoned. And a retrial is not always the best alternative either."

 

Mr. McEkron said another system of substitute jurors could also be considered. 

 

"If the number, for example, is seven, we have an additional of two jurors who actually sit in the jury box, but we know they are there and they would not enter the jury room for the deliberation of a final verdict unless they are then required because there has been a falling in the numbers," he proposed.     

 

He was speaking Thursday on Radio Jamaica's Beyond the Headlines.