Judge’s challenge

As the issue of sick certificates sent in by defendants continues to plague the criminal justice system, a High Court judge is suggesting that his fellow judges take a bold step to prevent the accused from “playing the system”.
“The certificate says unfit to work, it does not say unfit for court,” Justice Randall Worrell said yesterday.
He was addressing the Barbados Bar Association’s annual general meeting at Hilton Barbados.
The judge said courts had started bringing the doctors, who had issued the certificates, to court. But such evidence, he added, must be taken in the absence of jurors.
However, if the doctor said the accused was fit to attend his trial, then there is the possibility that the matter could proceed.