Several inmates, mostly murder accused, had to be removed from the Port-of-Spain Eighth Magistrate’s Court yesterday, after they began shouting and cursing after realising their matters could possibly be restarted due to the recent departure of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar.
The inmates were fuelled by six men who, on leaving the courtroom, began shouting that they were being denied of justice after they were given an adjournment date. The six men are jointly charged with murder and had been before Ayers-Caesar, who is now a High Court judge.
Ayers-Caesar was supposed to have ruled on a submission made by the men’s attorneys before leaving for the High Court posting. The case had been ongoing for the past seven years and was nearing completion with 59 witnesses listed.
The case also had changes in the prosecutorial team, as the complainant in the mater changed three times because of retirements from the department.
Preliminary inquiries for murder cases usually take three to five years to complete and another three to five years before it reaches the High Court.
After the six men received their adjourned dates and were leaving the courtroom they stamped and shouted and cursed as they were being led to the cell downstairs the courtrooms.
As they left the courtroom the men shouted: “All yuh doh care about f---g we! This is not no f---g justice!”
While shouting their objection to the adjournment, other inmates in the prisoners’ dock in the courtroom began cursing and had to be forcibly removed from the courtroom by officers.
Downstairs, the men could be heard cursing and shouting while their matters were being adjourned in their absence.
Up to the closing of the courthouse, none of the inmates who were cursing had been charged with using obscene language or resisting arrest although some were regarded as being “unruly”.
Officers of the Court and Process Branch, who are responsible for the inmates while at court, said they understood the frustration of the men and thus opted not to charge them. They denied that the men were beaten as had been suggested in some reports which surfaced yesterday.
Since her elevation to the High Court on April 12, it had been suggested that all Ayers-Caesar’s unfinished matters would now have to re-started by another magistrate.
The issue was raised by attorneys and Opposition senators Gerald Ramdeen and Wayne Sturge last week, after Ramdeen had initially suggested that Ayers-Caesar should have completed all her matters before moving on, since this could place more burden on the already stressed system.
Also addressing the situation in a press release on Monday, Law Association president Douglas Mendes SC said they will be seeking to meet with Chief Justice Ivor Archie, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi and Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard “to assist in finding a workable solution.”
