A dysfunctional justice system

Mar 29, 2018 Editorial, Features / Columnists

It is not a secret that the country’s justice system does not have the resources, personnel and modern technology in order to make it more efficient. There is a backlog of cases, and even though night court has been introduced, they continue to pile up.
One of the strengths of the justice system is to deter and mitigate crime and punish those who violate the laws with penalties and rehabilitation. However, many believe that our justice system is flawed, in some cases biased, and woefully inadequate. A number of jurists have sentenced people to prison for minor offences, placed many on remand, and imposed bail which the poor cannot afford.
The judicial system is known for recognizing status when punishing wrongdoers such as politicians and public officials. Jurists are more likely to imprison the average person who is involved in petty crimes such as stealing mangoes, whereas those who cannot account for millions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money will be accused of mismanagement or misappropriation of funds, and will not be jailed. Herein lies the bias.
Politicians and the rich and powerful are not being handcuffed and dragged into prison like the average person who commits a crime.
In the United States, Canada and several other countries, politicians, businessmen and other high profile professionals have to resign, pay hefty fines or serve time in prison if convicted of a crime. In Guyana, the lack of prosecution of public officials for corruption, money laundering and other crimes shows that our justice system has two sets of laws: one for the rich and another for the poor. It shows that our justice system is not blind. It is time to rip away the mask of judicial impartiality and admit to the charade that passes on for justice in Guyana.
To be charged for any crime in Guyana, whether it is something as heinous as murder or as trite as possessing a gram of marijuana, is to be sentenced to a very long time in prison because of the remand system and the delay of cases. The concept of remand takes on a whole different meaning in this country where cases routinely take almost five years or more before being tried and a verdict rendered. It is such a dysfunctional justice system that the concept of the presumption of innocence is dismissed as in the theatre of the absurd.
Judges and magistrates are not the only ones to be blamed for the huge backlog of cases. All the stakeholders of the justice system are responsible. They include the police who routinely delay cases due to the fact that all the evidence has not been gathered; lawyers who often seek postponement because they have other cases; magistrates and judges who tend to put off cases because of poor scheduling, poor case management practices by legal clerks, and delays in getting prisoners from the jail to the courts.
If the government and the legal fraternity were to put half of the time and effort expended on the issue of appointing judges to the bench into resolving the delay of cases, the backlog would have been reduced significantly. The logical conclusion for why so many prisoners are on remand is because there is not enough interest on the part of the government or the legal fraternity to change the status quo of judicial dysfunction in the country.
What is so incredible or perhaps troubling is how comfortable those who are sworn to uphold justice continue to function with such ease in a dysfunctional judicial system. They continue to be blind to the plight of hundreds of ordinary men and women who are trapped in a merciless system. The backlog of cases can be solved by those within the system who are best positioned to demand change and collaborate on solutions.

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