Gordon Robinson | “Justice”? Just colt di game!

As Jamaican Dancehall fraternity/sorority celebrated the Lizard Williams murder convictions’ quashing, shouts of “Free World Boss” reverberated from Gaza to Tower Street.

Legal defence teams did “victory” laps before nearby cameras. Eminent King’s Counsel was quoted by The Gleaner as exulting “Long live the Privy Council (PC)!” bestowing on that court respect usually reserved for Monarchs.

King’s Counsel was further quoted as saying:

“Justice is universal, so I prefer to go to a court where I can get justice.”

Oh dear. Where is it you won’t get justice? CCJ? Shades of Edward Seaga’s “only pure stream of justice” homage to PC! But apex courts review appeal courts everywhere. Or is it because the decision went a certain way that, to some of us, that’s “justice”?

Learned KC continued:

“This criticism of the PC because it is judges from England is neither here nor there.”

Actually it’s very much here! The criticism resides here in Jamaica and the region where Judges are in sync with regional realities. These realities include Caribbean population sizes; availability of resources; and cultures’ ability to influence potential jurors.

KC: “We want justice in Jamaica and if we can get it from the Privy Council then that’s what we would rather support.”

But, considering the above realities, patronising expression of “considerable sympathy with the Judge’s dilemma”, followed by unrelated, academic assessment of Jamaican judicial discretion, isn’t necessarily “justice.”

What may not be clear to average media consumers is this wasn’t the first jury “incident”. It was the THIRD.

The first was an inadvertent encounter between a juror and one Defence Counsel. The second incident involved a juror’s visit to her son, detained at Horizon, witnessed by one Defendant. Subsequently Palmer spoke to her son about the visit. The juror, who feared for her son’s welfare, was discharged.

Then direct jury tampering came to light at the eleventh hour.

Learned KC conceded “I’m not saying that our judges aren’t intelligent or as intelligent, because I think they are, however, what I am saying is that Jamaica is too small a place. We all know of each other.”

Wha, wha WHAT?

Jamaica is TOO SMALL to deliver “justice”? I cannot…….

Lookie here: This PC decision is NOT proof justice can’t be delivered in Jamaica. The trial lasted 64 days. The appellants filed numerous grounds of appeal canvassing several issues. PC disagreed with Jamaica’s Appeal Court on ONE issue namely how the Appeal Court treated exercise of a Trial Judge’s discretion. Every appellate judge agreed the Judge had the discretion to decide whether to continue the trial. Appeal Court wrote:

“we can see nothing manifesting an improper exercise of that discretion. The question of the amount of time spent in the trial of the case was not, contrary to the submissions for the appellants, an irrelevant matter. The proper administration of justice does require the consideration of such issues as well as the issue of prejudice to the persons accused.”

The court also considered that, during his enquiry into jury tampering report “the judge also had the forewoman’s assurance that none of the jurors was being influenced by the juror in question and that she was reminding the other jurors to be guided by the evidence.We can see no basis to interfere with the exercise of that discretion.”

PC found “The judge took no account of [the] risk of overcompensation by jurors.” No Sir. The Judge specifically relied on the Forewoman’s assurance to the contrary.

PC: “In England…legislation now provides that it is permitted to discharge a jury because of jury tampering and to continue the trial…by judge alone. However in the absence of such a provision...there will be occasions on which, as in the present case, a court will have no alternative but to discharge a jury and end the trial in order to protect the integrity of….trial by jury.”

So UK Law Lords were aware they sit in a jurisdiction with a statutory solution to the dilemma but still insisted that Jamaican Judges have only one way to deal with it in the very different Jamaican context. That’s a suspect, imperially inspired judicial principle called discretion without choice. Kinda like the discretion former slaves enjoyed!

Still, everybody calm down. None of the Defendants have been exonerated. PC only found that the Judge should’ve started over. Appeal Court must now decide whether that’s still feasible. But this decision is a stark reminder of the danger of embracing a final appeal court divorced from Jamaican lived reality. Now that our Colonial Master has advised Jamaican criminals all they have to do to escape justice is to repeatedly colt di game, we might heed the Chief Justice’s call for Judge only trials.

Peace and Love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com