Prosecution in man’s 2007 cocaine case to justify continuation 17 years later
Published:Friday | April 19, 2024 | 12:12 AM
Christopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
THE ST JAMES Parish Court is expected to hear on Friday whether the prosecution in the case of Mickey Miller, who is before the court on cocaine charges stemming back to 2007 when he was first arrested, can justify continuing its case against him 17 years later.
Presiding parish judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton set the matter for Friday morning following yesterday’s application by Miller’s attorney, Charles Sinclair, for the case against his client to be dismissed.
That application was made on the grounds that no effort was made to conclude the prosecution of the matter after 2007 when the case was adjourned sine die, without a future resumption date.
“What has the prosecution done in the past 17 years to prosecute this matter? The Constitution affords every Jamaican the right to a fair hearing and a fair trial within a reasonable time. The truth is, when this matter was adjourned sine die, and he [Miller] was told to go, and his documents were to be handed over the same day, had the judge said that the stop order was to be lifted that day … but for that stop order, nothing would have happened,” said Fairclough-Hylton.
She was referencing the prosecution’s revelation moments earlier that Miller’s case had come back before the court this year after he was reportedly told by immigration personnel that the stop-order that had been previously imposed on him was still in effect when he brought documentation to them for permission to leave the island while undergoing an unrelated court case.
Interestingly, the court was told that Miller was the one who initially brought the matter to the court’s attention in February this year, leading to his case currently being back on the prosecution’s case-list.
“At the end of the day, there must be a balance. It can’t be that the prosecution sits on the file for 17 years, and when he comes now, it is said, ‘Oh yes, we’re still going to prosecute you,’” Fairclough-Hylton noted. “It is never for an accused to bring his matter back before the court. The onus can never and should never be on an accused to put a matter back before the court. The burden should always rest on the prosecution.”
The judge’s comments followed Sinclair’s application in which he argued that the long delay in having Miller’s case dealt with would have been an abuse of the judicial process.
“When I sought to get instructions from him, after 17 years, Mr Miller was having a challenge telling me whether people went in the witness box or what happened in court. He just knew that the matter was brought to an end and he was given back his documents and he went abroad,” Sinclair told the court, while pointing out that Miller was represented at the time by the now-deceased attorney Roy Fairclough.
“It is my submission that this matter should not go any further save and except a disposition via an acquittal against Mr Miller. Does this court have the jurisdiction to do that? The court does,” Sinclair added. “Abuse [of the judicial process] can arise in many forms, and very ofte,n the grounds for abuse is delay. The court has an inescapable duty to secure fairness to those who are brought before them.”
The prosecution had previously indicated on March 1 that a missing witness in its case against Miller had been found and that it was subsequently prepared to proceed against him. It has not been made clear whether the witness in question is Miller’s former co-accused, Ishell Mhlophe.
Miller and Mhlophe were arrested and charged on May 18, 2007, in relation to three pounds and 1.19 ounces of cocaine. The two were taken into custody when both were checking in at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay to leave the country.
According to reports, Mhlophe was preparing to board a flight to London, England, when her suitcase was searched and two plastic bottles were found inside it. The bottles were found to contain a substance, which tested positive for cocaine.
Under questioning from the on-duty officer, Mhlophe reportedly pointed out Miller, who was also in the boarding line for the London flight, as the one who had given her the substance.
Under caution, Miller allegedly addressed Mhlophe and said: “You chat too much. If you did keep your mouth, you and your pickney dem woulda all right,” following which both were arrested and charged.
The case against Miller was later adjourned sine die after a warrant was issued for the arrest of Mhlophe, who failed to return to court in 2007 despite being on bail. It is understood that the warrant is still in effect as per an update given to the court on March 26 this year.