McCalla supports renaming of Petty Session Court

McCalla supports renaming of Petty Session Court

Ingrid Brown
Saturday, February 26, 2011

CHIEF Justice Zaila McCalla has endorsed the call by lay magistrates for the renaming of the Petty Session Court and for them to be given greater responsibilities in the dispensing of justice.

Speaking at a recent Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica Annual General Meeting, McCalla said lay magistrates may soon be called upon to play a greater role in the administration of justice.

"You may be called upon to deal with more serious cases and this will ease the burden on the Resident Magistrates Courts and others, enhance skills and competence and will have a positive effect on the disposal of criminal cases," McCalla said.

McCalla said she also firmly believed that it was full time the name Petty Session Court be changed.

"In my view there is nothing petty about dispersing of justice," McCalla said to rousing applause.
With the increase in criminal activities, McCalla said that the number of cases to be tried was not commensurate with the number of judges and courthouses in the island.

McCalla said she has expressed to the relevant authorities the urgent need for a specific unit to be established in the court to ensure the collection of accurate information and specific data to allow for proper assessment.
As such, she argued that criminal case management will be to the benefit of all users of the court.

Lay Magistrates, she said, should also be sensitised on this initiative.

Meanwhile, she urged the Justices of the Peace (JPs) to ensure that their actions are above reproach at all times.

"Whatever is legally within your power to safeguard your integrity and preserve the system... you use," she said, adding that "nothing or no one should cause you to act improperly whether in discharge of your public function or private affairs.

With the advent of technology and increase in cyber crimes, McCalla said she cannot overemphasise the need to pay close attention to details before endorsing documents.

"In recent times we have seen an increase in the number of fraudulent documents which are being presented as genuine," she said.

She cited cases which she said involved persons seeking to deprive elderly persons of their property as well as corruption in probate and divorce cases.

"Probate and divorce are also cases in which corruption has seemed in and so I must urge you to play your part in eliminating scourge of corruption from our society," she said.

For his part, national president of the Lay Magistrates Association of Jamaica, Rion Hall urged his colleagues not to be committed to only signing documents but to make themselves available to serve in the courts.

"When I go to our sessions, I quiver at the number of simple cases that get put off repeatedly. And, ...we start at 10:00 am and by 11:00 am the session is finished and court is close for that day," he said.

"There is no reason, space being allowed, why you couldn't have two or three courts for the parish of Kingston going on at the same time as all it takes is nine justices and we would get rid of this backlog," he said.

He argued further that it was the failings of a number of Justices of the Peace (JPs) which has resulted in the authorities seeking to give some of their duties to parish councillors and senators.

"We will certainly hope that in the long run we will not be localising and politicising our position," he said.

The association, he said, will be taking up the issue with the justice minister.

"We want to ensure that there be real demarcation so that nobody will confuse themselves with what it is the JP do what we stand for and where politics end," he said.

Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller also called on the JPs to make themselves available to be trained to serve in other areas.

"We will be training persons to serve in the drug and petty session court and the spirit licence authority to expand pool of persons in that area," he said.

He pointed out that there are several JPs who, having been commissioned, seek to make it only a part of their resume

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/McCalla-supports-renaming-of-Petty-Session-Court_8360069#ixzz1GWnGq0GT
 
Editor's note:  Ms McCalla, the citizens of Illinois need you to clean up the Probate Court of Cook County!!!!