Questionable Conduct: The Jamaican Political Reality

The following is the No Case Submission (NCS) made by K.D. Knight Q.C. on behalf of Coleen Wright: NO CASE SUBMISSION (SKELETON ARGUMENTS) R   v   COLEEN WRIGHT AND KERN SPENCER INTRODUCTION The submission is based on the following: - JAMAICA CONSTITUTION FAIRNESS IN CRIMINAL TRIALS LORD PARKER’S PRACTICE DIRECTION Following discussion under each of these heads, there is an Analysis of Counts, then an Analysis of Evidence of Particular Witnesses. THE CONSTITUTION The Jamaica Constitution relevant to this case provides in Section 20(1) “whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law”. Section 20(6)(b) and (d) provide: - Every person who is charged with a criminal offence – (b) shall be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence; (d) s...

o Case To Answer On Monday, March 24, 2014, Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey upheld the No Case Submissions (NCS) made by Deborah Martin, Attorney-at-Law (on behalf of Kern Spencer) and Attorney-at-Law K.D. Knight, Q.C. (on behalf of Coleen Wright). She ruled that both had no case to answer and were therefore free to go. The Prosecution was led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Paula Llewellyn Q.C.. The learned DPP openly disagreed with the decision that a prima facie case was not made out. Indeed on every available opportunity she has vigorously exclaimed (repeating bits of the Reply) that there was a "mountain of evidence"  and that the Senior RM was wrong in law as there was no doubt that there was a case to answer. This has ignited a conflagration of public perceptions about the administration of justice in Jamaica. For the mass public something seems fundamentally wrong with the system, given the length of time, the postponement of other cases,...