Previously there had been two designated magistrates to handle the inquest cases. But the adjustment allows for the even and random distribution for all the court’s cases among the 13 magistrates in just a few days, said Chief Mag-istrate Roger Gomez.
“So far [the adjustment in the court system] is going pretty smoothly,” said Mag-istrate Gomez. “We have had no problems with it at all.”
He admitted to The Nassau Guardian that most of the work had not yet reached the point where it was evenly shared among the magistrates, so for the time being, he was the only person dealing with inquest cases.
“My work load had in-creased quite a bit,” said the Magistrate light-heartedly. “But I am in the middle of setting up the schedule for all the magistrates to take part in this.”
He added that he hopes everything will go smoothly in the distribution process, but he could not confirm what day next week the new Coroner’s Court change would be in full effect.
Nearly two weeks ago, the announcement that the court would revert to the pre-1993 system generated a number of responses, as many did not know the change had been planned.
President of the Bar Association, Wayne Munroe, explained to The Nassau Guardian that the change had been discussed prior to the shuffle and that it was necessary. “Imagine if [a] magistrate did nothing but handle inquests and then they tried to apply to the Supreme Court,” said Mr Munroe.
“The people would say they were not qualified, and it would not be in the interest of the magistrate to be stagnated by doing the same thing over and over again.”
Mr Munroe explained that Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall had informed the bar of his position on the matter in question, as he had done in the past with all other matters, and nobody seemed to be interested in the issue before now.
“No one noticed when a certain magistrate on Nassau Street was assigned drug matters.
Nobody cared because I guess there was not anyone famous involved back then.”
In a press release from the Attorney-General’s (AG) Office, Minister of Legal Affairs and AG, Alyson Maynard-Gibson supported the Chief Justice’s decision and anticipates that the reinstatement will expedite the inquest process.
By: INDERIA SAUNDERS, The Nassau Guardian
