Senior Supreme Court Justice Anita Allen has fired back at criticisms that the Bahamianisation of the judicial system has been a “colossal failure.”<\/p>\n
In fact, Judge Allen says, at no time in the history of The Bahamas\u2019, has such a “tremendous” caseload existed and so much demanded of so few.<\/p>\n
While the case load may be extraordinary, her comments do not adequately refute the fact that the Bahamian judiciary is a colossal failure.<\/p>\n
“My considered view is that our judiciary, which has only had a significant complement of Bahamians within the last 15 to 20 years, is a success,” she said.<\/p>\n
The acting chief justice was responding to an editorial which appeared in The Tribune calling the Bahamian judiciary a “collossal failure”.<\/p>\n
The editor’s comments were concerned with the collective failure of the entire judicial system, not just the judges and magistrates.<\/p>\n
But Justice Allen was out to defend the judges. She was addressing new counsel and attorneys, who were recently called to the Bar.<\/p>\n
“The spiraling of crime in our country has placed a severe strain on the administration of justice with the astronomical increase of serious criminal cases before the courts,” she said.<\/p>\n
Allen fails to accept the judiciary’s responsibility for the case backlog.\u00a0 If judges would enforce the law, and not continually allow attorney to abuse the system, there would be a much smaller backlog.<\/p>\n
Some of the ridiculous defences that Wayne Munroe and Murielle Ducille present to the court would be funny if the cases were not so serious.<\/p>\n
And lawyers like Phillip ‘Brave’ Davis and Godfrey ‘Pro’ Pinder are experts at delaying trials for all sorts of silly reasons which some judges seem to allow.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Allen said all judges, including Bahamians, have performed well.<\/p>\n
In fact, she said any failures in the system cannot be placed at the feet of the Bahamianisation of the judiciary.<\/p>\n