Lynford Simpson, Staff Reporter
A WHOPPING $2 billion is owed to the island's courts by persons who stand surety for individuals who have absconded bail, and who themselves cannot be located, Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe said yesterday.
The chief judge made the disclosure while addressing the annual general meeting of the Kingston Chapter of the Lay Magistrate's Association at St. Matthew's Church Hall, Hitchen Street, Allman Town.
He urged the Justices of the Peace (JPs) present not to get involved in questionable activities to the detriment of the profession.
He explained that while the sureties were often recommended by JPs, the police, on investigating, often find that they were not personally known to the justices. "That is a fact, it's not fiction," the chief justice remarked. "That is totally irresponsible and totally contrary to the oath which each of you took," he added.
Justice Wolfe said the money had remained uncollected because the JPs were not able to provide any assistance either in locating the sureties or the accused persons.
"Right now we have about $2 billion worth of money on the road owed by sureties persons who have bailed people. The persons have absconded and we cannot collect the money," he said.
He said he had received reports that justices on occasion, preside in court over matters of which they have intimate knowledge..." And people write and say this justice is married to the sister of the woman tried today and when I investigate and ask a couple questions they say it's true." He lamented that "things like that bring the justice system into disrepute."
In urging the JPs to make a difference, Justice Wolfe pointed to the rule of law which he said was under threat in Jamaica. In fact he questioned whether the rule of law still existed in a country where the concept of democracy was taken to mean "I man free (to do anything)". He asserted that in Jamaica, the concept of democracy was more misunderstood than anywhere else in the world.
He made a plea for law-abiding citizens and those involved in the administration of justice to be more proactive in ensuring that the rule of law is alive and well.
"The absence of the rule of law means that there is going to be chaos," he warned - the result of that chaos being an environment not conducive to growth and prosperity.
