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by pltm
(PLTM) - Members of the legal fraternity, particularly Attorneys and Crown Representatives, will be held to the highest standards and will be made accountable for all their actions.
Senior Magistrate Tamia Richards on Tuesday made this known to those Attorneys and Crown Counsel in the John’s Hole Magistrate’s Court.
She was at the time raising concerns over the absence of several practitioners at a recently held seminar for members of the legal fraternity.
However, for those that were absent, she told them that a decision was taken “to hold each of you to the principles that guide you.”
This comes at a time when members of the Crown Counsel are facing criticisms for their work in the delivery of justice.
Recently, Magistrate Shawn Innocent raised several concerns in respect to cases that have been in the system for a protracted period, and the incidents of Crown Counsel allowing cases to “fester” in the backlog.
He has also voiced his dissatisfaction over a “lack of initiative” in getting these cases out of the system, as well as “systematic issues” at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution, which is causing a delay in justice.
There was also a recent occurrence where a popular attorney was threatened with being held in contempt of the court after he asked for his clients to plead guilty to a wrongly laid charge, even after raising the issue of the incorrect charge in court.
