Senior attorneys express regret that old Jamaican case was not considered by judge and appeal court in "Vybz Kartel trial"

Former Prime Minister, PJ Patterson and his fellow attorney Hugh Small has expressed regret that the existence of a precedent within the Jamaican legal system on the issue of discharging a compromised jury was never raised during the murder trial of Adidja Palmer (aka Vybz Kartel) and his co-accused.

 

The comments by the senior attorneys follow the Privy Council's ruling that the murder convictions be quashed on the ground of jury tampering.

 

In a joint statement on Tuesday, the attorneys pointed to another local case that they believe should have guided local judges to dismiss all members of the jury during the trial.

 

That case, in the 1980s, was a defamation suit, brought by Michael Manley against The Gleaner.

 

The Jamaican Court of Appeal ordered a retrial of the case because one of the jurors who rendered the decision was an employee of the National Workers Union, for which Mr Manley was the Island Supervisor at the time. 

 

Mr Patterson and Mr Small appeared for Mr Manley in that case.

 

Mr Small says past judgments with such impact should be placed in digital form for them to be accessible to guide future trials.