Georgetown: Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran says “of a total of 13 matters that went to trial for last session, there was only one conviction. There is therefore a less than ten per cent conviction rate. Attorney General Anil Nandlall is reported to have said in Parliament during the Budget debate that `the wider society has lost, or is rapidly losing confidence in the jury system, especially in sexual offences matters.’ He reported that in 22 sexual offences matters between 2012 and 2013 there were no convictions and that the situation is no different in relation to non-sexual offences.
As such Ramkarran noted that jury system needs to be abolished and not reformed as was recently proposed by Attorney General Anil Nandlall during the budget debate.
Ramkarran cited the recent poor conviction rate from High Court cases and the growing complexity of crimes that juries have to preside over.
Noting that jury trial by peers is neither a constitutional nor human right, Ramkarran pointed out that it has been successfully abolished in common law countries.
Ramkarran said that he had written twice over the past year urging that the jury system be dropped. On the first occasion several lawyers, including the Attorney General, disagreed with the view. On the second occasion, Ramkarran said he repeated the view in an article adverting to the remarks of Chief Justice Ivor Archie of Trinidad and Tobago who had urged that the jury system be reformed. Ramkarran had also noted that Justice Archie’s view was supported by two of the most outstanding jurists of the Caribbean region, retired Chief Justices Sharma and de la Bastide of Trinidad and Tobago.
Ramkarran referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions report for the last Criminal Assizes from January 15 to March 28 which showed that 25 matters were completed in Demerara, Berbice and Essequibo. Eighteen matters were presented for Demerara. In two, he noted that the DPP withdrew prosecution and there were five guilty pleas to lesser offences. Of the remaining 11 that went to trial there was only 1 guilty verdict, Ramkarran said.
In Essequibo five matters were completed with one being withdrawn. Of the two that went to trial both saw acquittals. In Berbice two persons pleaded guilty to lesser offences, two were found not competent to stand trial and one trial was in progress.
“However, Mr Nandlall is offering a reform of the jury system, not its abolition. His stated intention is to preserve the system whereby a person is to be judged by his/her peers, namely, the jury system. He intends to expand the jury pool, to review the qualifications in relation to terms of ownership of property and earning capacity and to abolish the requirement for unanimous verdicts in relation to murder. He may not know that it was the unanimous rule that saved the life of Arnold Rampersaud, the PPP stalwart falsely charged for murder, in whose first of three trials in 1977 only one juror held out over threats against his life. There is no magic in the principle of trial by peers. It is an ancient system which has worked in many societies, particularly those which have inherited the common law tradition. Jury trial by peers is neither a constitutional nor a human right. They have been successfully abolished in common law countries and do not exist in countries with civil law systems. In many countries without jury systems, there are no complaints about the quality of their dispensation of justice”, Ramkarran asserted.
He said that the reason for the low percentage of convictions is not known, as no investigation or study has been carried out of jury trials and it may be difficult to determine anything useful as jurors are sworn to secrecy in relation to their deliberations. He added that there are undoubtedly some cases of inadequate investigations and maybe prosecutions but even if the conviction rate was doubled, the rate would still be appallingly low. He contended that something is seriously wrong with the system and tinkering with it is unlikely to change anything.
“Crime is becoming more sophisticated and heinous. Many crimes are not solved and many prosecutions are already unsuccessful. If retained, the jury system in coming years will be required to consider matters of greater complexity than they have to deal with today. These include money laundering, kidnapping and others. If the jury system is now so ineffective that the conviction rate is less that 10 per cent, then it is quite likely that in time the slender thread which holds the system together will snap and the system will suffer a complete collapse, notwithstanding the tinkering reforms proposed by the Attorney General”, Ramkarran argued.
Underlining that countries in the region which are of similar social composition appear to be having the same problems with their jury systems, Ramkarran said that if Trinidad which is better resourced than Guyana, is contemplating a review of its jury system, there was no reason for Guyana to hold on to the view that a trial by peers holds some special significance.
“Guyana is burdened by crime, even if it may be favourably compared with some of our neighbours. To maintain a system of trial by jury which is hindering the effectiveness of our criminal justice system, is a bad idea”, he added.
During the budget debate, Nandlall said that a full reform of the jury system is expected to take place this year.
Nandlall had posited that the administration of criminal justice is a two-way street and that the state and by extension the victims of crimes and their relatives are equally entitled to a fair trial as is the accused person.
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