debut: 2/16/17
38,880 runs
T&T CJ Archie must resign
Yesterday’s Privy Council judgment in the Marcia Ayers-Caesar/Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) debacle has vindicated the former chief magistrate, who is now entitled to millions in salaries owed since April 2017 plus compensation for breaches of her constitutional rights. Her victory has caused multiple casualties.
The ruling could bring no relief to the dozens of accused whose part-heard matters had to be aborted and re-started as a consequence of Mrs Ayers-Caesar’s appointment to the High Court before disposing of her cases in the magistrates’ courts. They—some of whom may still be in Remand Yard—and their families have been dealt the injustice of stolen time for which there is no remedy.Public trust and confidence in the judicial system, already low prior to the messy affair, plummeted as a result of it. The public witnessed the shocking incompetence of a JLSC chaired by Chief Justice Ivor Archie appointing a judge without first exercising basic diligence to determine the effect of that appointment on ongoing cases in the magistrates’ court.
Yesterday’s Privy Council judgment in the Marcia Ayers-Caesar/Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) debacle has vindicated the former chief magistrate, who is now entitled to millions in salaries owed since April 2017 plus compensation for breaches of her constitutional rights. Her victory has caused multiple casualties.
The ruling could bring no relief to the dozens of accused whose part-heard matters had to be aborted and re-started as a consequence of Mrs Ayers-Caesar’s appointment to the High Court before disposing of her cases in the magistrates’ courts. They—some of whom may still be in Remand Yard—and their families have been dealt the injustice of stolen time for which there is no remedy.Public trust and confidence in the judicial system, already low prior to the messy affair, plummeted as a result of it. The public witnessed the shocking incompetence of a JLSC chaired by Chief Justice Ivor Archie appointing a judge without first exercising basic diligence to determine the effect of that appointment on ongoing cases in the magistrates’ court.
