Preliminary enquiries should continue

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Any attempt to abolish preliminary enquiries is unreasoned and ill-conceived and can only do injustice. The abolition does not take into consideration the following:

1. The statutory procedures for submitting cases to the clerks of courts to ensure that cases and case files are properly prepared are not followed.

2. The inexperience of clerks of courts who are occupying that chair merely because they are qualified as attorneys-at-law.

3. Motorists, particularly operators of public passenger vehicles, are being prosecuted for minor offences on the new policy of zero tolerance, replacing the policy of warning notices in the first instance.

4. Traffic officers being treated as revenue collectors, some imposing fines far above what the courts would impose and so those fines are not paid, causing warrants to be issued and further court proceedings.

5. There are not enough resident magistrates so that one can deal exclusively with trial matters and separately with new, bail and mention matters, and again, separately, or a master to deal with chamber matters.

Preliminary enquiries are to make sure that unworthy matters do not reach the Circuit Court to cause further burden upon the Supreme Court, since judges of the Circuit Court are the same ones who deal with both criminal and civil matters in the Supreme Court.

OWEN S. CROSBIE

Attorney-at-law