THE CONTINUED LATE arrival of prisoners to court has raised the ire of the island’s top prosecutor. And the Superintendent of Prisons will appear in court today to explain why courts have been kept waiting, for sometimes more than an hour, after the scheduled 9 a.m. start.
The development came in the No 5 Supreme Court yesterday as it awaited the arrival of two accused, both of whom were on remand. They arrived around 10 a.m. At the end of the day’s sitting, Director of Public Prosecutions Charles Leacock, QC, said that he was at court from 8:45 a.m. but was forced to wait until 10 for a start.
“This can’t be happening,” he said. “We’re wasting too much time. I’m asking the Superintendent [of Prisons] to come to court to explain why the men are having this systematic problem,” the DPP said.
He asked for a summons to be sent to the Superintendent, but Justice Maureen Crane-Scott said she would use that option as a last resort.
But she added that it was “past time” that an explanation be offered for the continued late arrival of prisoners.
“We are wasting too much time and I’m hearing it’s the same problem in the magistrates’ court,” she said.
However, the judge refused to push back the start of her court.
