WOLFE
The Gun Court in downtown Kingston yesterday began operating with five additional courts, in an effort to reduce the huge backlog of cases.
Two courts are in operation during the year. The sittings in the seven courts will end on September 14 and by then it is expected that the list will be significantly reduced.
Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe has been sitting in the Gun Court since April this year. Reports are that he has been issuing summonses for lawyers and policemen who fail to attend
court when cases are set for trial
or mention.
10 a day perfect
A court clerk said that more than 12 cases were disposed of yesterday and emphasised that if 10 cases were dealt with daily, there would be a significant dent in the backlog of cases.
Last year, lawyers and relatives of accused persons complained that the long delay in wrapping up cases had resulted in many accused persons languishing in custody. It was reported last year that there were more than 1,000 cases on the court list and only a few cases were being disposed of weekly.
