Magistrate’s sacking places further burden on court

Mar 24, 2011 News

The sacking of Magistrate Omeyana Hamilton has now placed a further burden on the already heavily populated judicial system. The magistrate received her dismissal letter Tuesday morning, from the Judicial Service Commission.
According to sources close to the magistrate the dismissal came after Hamilton refused to travel on a speedboat to the mining town of Bartica. Yesterday when this newspaper visited Hamilton’s court, there was a large crowd that gathered outside of the room.
All of Hamilton’s matters, which total 45, were called by Magistrate Chandra Sohan in Court Seven. They were given new dates by the magistrate.
Legal sources yesterday said that re assigning of the matters would mean that they would have to be restarted before a different magistrate.
When this newspaper tried to solicit a comment from the chancellor today, his secretary informed us that he was engaged.
On Tuesday sources close to the magistrate had explained that Hamilton, who also operates Court Six in Georgetown, would normally travel to Bartica via ferry.
The ferry operates three times weekly, which means the magistrate would start court session late in the mining community. The ferry would arrive mid-afternoon.
The Judicial Service Commission (JSC), found that as a result, Magistrate Hamilton’s production was not what it should be had she reached the mining community early in the morning. And as a consequence of the use of the ferry, matters in Georgetown would have to wait for the return of the magistrate.
The JSC suggested to the magistrate that she should travel by speedboat, which would see her returning to Georgetown on the same day.
However it was explained that Hamilton would normally become nauseated whenever she travelled via speedboat.
This publication was told that Hamilton had an audience with the requisite authority and told them about her grievances.
Obviously the magistrate’s safety has not been taken into consideration, since she was issued with a dismissal letter, the source said. It was noted that persons who travelled by speed boat are not insured.
Hamilton was described by a number of lawyers as one of the most dedicated magistrates in the system.
In recent times, magistrates were suspended for their alleged infractions, and not terminated, one member of the magistracy noted. If reservation about one’s safety is an infraction then something is radically wrong, the magistrate said.
In 2009, Magistrate Geeta Chandan-Edmond was sent on two weeks’ suspension after she left the jurisdiction, allegedly without permission.
Chandan-Edmond had left Guyana to attend a relative’s funeral in neighbouring Suriname. After her return, she received a letter seeking her explanation for her unauthorised absence from work, and also for her departure without seeking permission from the Judicial Service Commission.
Members of the JSC along with the magistrate met and debated about the issue. Soon after that meeting she was told by members of the JSC, that she would be suspended for two weeks without pay.
The Magistrate is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for the breach of article 199 of the Constitution. She is also seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for the breach of her not being under the protection of the Office of the President.
And she is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for the wrongful suspension from the office of the Magistrate for the period of two weeks. Magistrate Hamilton, prior to her appointment, had served in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. She also worked in the Magistrates’ Court and with Legal Aid.

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Magistrate’s sacking places further burden on court

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