est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

LAWYERS in the NEWS

David
2 minutes

No single profession attracts the ire of Barbadians like lawyers. On a daily basis For example, we often hear complaints about lawyers taking unreasonably long periods of time to transfer monies from clients accounts to their clients. The complaints come from Barbadians living overseas  who having entrusted life long savings (pensions) to lawyers to settle various transactions in absentia or Barbadians on the rock who have no choice but to take on the stress of the legal system to process routine transactions.

The Bar Association (BA) has done little to assuage the concerns by Barbadians that it is an efficient self regulating body.  Suggestions to include ordinary folks on the BA’s Disciplinary Committee has not met with a favourable response. There is a sense lawyers and by extension the legal system has the country in a vice grip headlock.    Where are ordinary citizens to turn for justice if the Court System, its trusted officers (lawyers) and the BA continue to NOT satisfactorily resolve concerns from citizenry?

BU accepts bad apples are to be found in all professions – doctors, engineers, construction class, bankers and the list is very long. However, what cannot be denied is the ‘omnipresence’ nature of the legal profession on our little society. What cannot be denies is the right of Barbadians to assign priority to issues affecting them as they think fit.  The time for citizens, ordinary and others, to fight back.

Take Note Commenters

  1. The objective of  BU LAWYERS in the NEWS page is to highlight reports of interest to the public about the activities of Barbados based lawyers.
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322 responses to “LAWYERS in the NEWS”

  1. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Have these ten new judges made a difference. Stats, please.
    BT
    “On the day observed as the start of the legal year, Smith-Millar told Barbados TODAYthe association would continue to closely monitor the situation at the court and the impact of ten new judges on the number of outstanding cases languishing in the judicial system. “We are extremely pleased that we have more judges on board to deal with the backlog as well as being able to spread the load perhaps a bit better now that they are more of them and bring court matters to a faster conclusion. That’s really our outlook on it. We hope that we can work with them,”

  2. David Avatar
    David

    This is where the BBA should be helping the public by giving us the information. The public is vested in an a well functioning court system.

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Judge: Delays in justice system make society fearful

    by HEATHER-LYNN EVANSON heatherlynevanson@nationnews.com

    SUBSTANTIAL DELAYS in the judicial system as accused wait years to be tried could have the trickle-down effect of making citizens “feel unsafe, skittish and uncooperative”.
    “Justice is denied every day both to those accused and those who fall victim to crime in this society and, furthermore, to the society at large, which has to dwell in the abyss of our state of affairs,” Justice Carlisle Greaves said.
    The judge’s comments came as he dealt with an 11-year-old matter in the No. 3 Supreme Court.
    Sherwin Ambrose Brathwaite, of 1st Avenue, Hoyte’s Village, St James; Akeem Jamal Alleyne, of Forde’s Tenantry, Silver Hill, Christ Church; as well as Dwayne Ricardo Gibson and Devere George Junior Small, both of Silver Hill, Christ Church, were back before the judge after pleading guilty to entering Silver Fox Arcade on January 13, 2011, and stealing $20 340, an external hard drive and a power supply belonging to Palace Amusements Ltd and at the time with a firearm.
    They had also confessed to entering the arcade on the same date and stealing a cell phone, a wallet and $450 belonging to Michael Bramble and at the time had a firearm.
    Senior State Counsel Neville Watson appeared for the prosecution, while Brathwaite was represented by attorney Lesley Cargill-Straker; Alleyne by Queen’s Counsel Michael Lashley and attorney Sade Harris; Small by Meshach Thornhill and Gibson by Ajamu Boardi.
    The judge fined each offender $5 000.
    Alleyne was ordered to pay $2 000 of the fine forthwith and the remainder in two weeks or two years in prison, while Gibson, Small and Brathwaite were ordered to pay their fines in two weeks or spend two years in default.
    Each man was ordered to return to court on May 6, with their receipts, to confirm that the fines were paid.
    Justice Greaves said a major concern in the case for him was the substantial delay in bringing the matter to trial.
    “The delay in our court system is legendary,” he said.
    “A society which notes that criminal battles are going to be dealt with promptly and those who offend it are dealt the justice they deserve and those who are offended receive the justice they merit becomes a confident society, the members of which cooperate with legal authorities when necessary. They will be less fearful when they are required to offer assistance to bring to justice those who should be brought to justice,” he said.
    “But a society having to dwell in an environment of substantial delay, while accused are left to roam for long periods, begins to feel unsafe, skittish and uncooperative and fear for their welfare.”
    The judge noted that if the judicial system was going to work properly for the benefit of everyone, then justice must be speedy, efficient and just.
    “When delay is as substantial as this,” the judge said as he referred to the matter involving the four men, “it presents courts with a significant dilemma when it comes to the issue of sentencing”.
    He said the four men had committed a serious offence but each appeared to have subsequently become a law-abiding citizen.
    “People may do bad things at some time in their lives and, over the years thereafter, they might continue to do bad things. They might become worse or they might do no further bad things and they become better.”
    The judge, however, noted it was of concern to the court that the firearm used in the offence had not been recovered.

    Source: Nation

  4. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    So Noel Lynch will be serving time, maybe Dodd’s should have a lawyers’ wing

  5. David Avatar
    David

    @Sargeant

    Leroy Lynch is the name.

  6. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ Sargeant,

    wrong Lynch

  7. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Another one.

    “I am 85 years old and this thing has taken a great toll on my life,” Huggins said yesterday.”

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/05/18/lawyer-wont-pay-town-house/

  8. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Sorry folks
    Slip of the fingers, thanks for the correction

  9. David Avatar
    David

    Attorney to give address today
    Money laundering accused attorney Ernest Winston Jackman yesterday begged for more time to prepare his closing address, saying he was unable to do so because there was “confusion” with clients in his office.
    He will now address the jury today.
    The attorney of Wiltshire Plantation House, St Philip, is on trial for stealing $678 414.75 belonging to HEJ Ltd, between June 23, 2006, and March 5, 2007.
    He is also accused of engaging in money laundering in that he disposed of sums totalling $678 414.75 being the proceeds of crime.
    Conducting own defence
    Principal State counsel Krystal Delaney is prosecuting, while Jackman is conducting his own defence.
    Jackman was scheduled to address the jury in the No. 5 Supreme Court yesterday.
    However, when the matter was called, Jackman told the court: “I thought it would be easy to prepare something but there was a lot of confusion in the office with clients.”
    As a result, he asked for “a little more time” to prepare his closing.
    Justice Pamela Beckles then granted him an adjournment until today.
    A jury of six women and three women has been hearing the evidence.


    Source: Nation

  10. David Avatar
    David

    Attorney found guilty, remanded to Dodds

    https://www.nationnews.com/2022/05/31/attorney-found-guilty-remanded-dodds/

  11. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    New York (CNN)Disgraced attorney Michael Avenatti was sentenced to four years in prison for stealing nearly $300,000 from his former client, adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

    District Judge Jesse Furman said Avenatti’s conduct was “so brazen and egregious” adding, he “took advantage of a vulnerable victim given her unorthodox career and somewhat unorthodox beliefs.”
    Avenatti was convicted in February of one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He faced as much as 20 years on the wire fraud charge and a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

  12. David Avatar
    David

    QC raps 3-year delay in case
    by BARRY ALLEYNE barryalleyne@nationnews.com

    THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE in Barbados’ Court of Appeal are still turning too slowly, says prominent criminal defence attorney Andrew Pilgrim.
    The Queen’s Counsel is bemoaning the three years it took for that court to reach a decision for his client, Jamar DeWayne Bynoe, one of the Campus Trendz killers.
    Bynoe was sentenced to death six years ago for his September 3, 2010 actions, and yesterday while his convictions were affirmed, the court ordered that he be sent back to the High Court for a fresh sentence.
    “My main concern here is not about the resentencing; that is neither here nor there. It’s about the delay to get this decision. This is ridiculous,” Pilgrim told the MIDWEEK NATION. “People always say the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) is critical of us, but we have to be critical of ourselves. Any decision that takes this long is going to be called under serious scrutiny because it makes you wonder what have you been doing all this time when you should have been deciding.”
    Pilgrim said he had filed Bynoe’s appeal back in July 2019.
    “It’s really unfortunate that it took this long. The Court of Appeal puts itself in a difficult position when it takes this long to give a decision about when a person should be in prison or sentenced to hang, or not. When they have a decision that affects all these things and they take this long to give it, it implies that you’re going to give a decision that they should stay in prison.
    “I wrote the Court of Appeal for bail for my client about two months ago, and I believe as a result of that application, this decision is now given. One wonders if I did not apply for bail for him, if they would not have put themselves in position to give that decision. It certainly looks that way,” the senior lawyer added.
    However, in response, Attorney General Dale Marshall told this newspaper that the authorities continued to work diligently on the judicial backlog.
    “There is absolutely no doubt that for years now the legal system has been plagued by delays and there still remains a problem of backlog. In the last four years since coming to Government, we have implemented a number of major initiatives, including increasing the size of the bench, and especially the criminal bench, to break the back of this problem,” he said.
    “I can say that the delays of which counsel complained in the Court of Appeal relate to an earlier period, and the court as currently constituted has taken a decision to systematically deal with those cases to get them through the system.
    “Regrettably, indications are that there are about ten cases in the Court of Appeal which will require rehearing, but that will be left to the current court. I am assured by the Chief Justice, Sir Patterson Cheltenham,
    that there are no appeals that have been filed in recent times that are languishing in the system and that delays in the Court of Appeal will no longer be a feature of that court.”
    Marshall added that in terms of the High Court, COVID-19 presented serious challenges to having criminal cases being heard, since the jury system ground to a halt during the height of the pandemic, and there were also times when prisoners could not be brought down to court.
    “In the face of these challenges, I cannot help but compliment our five judges on the criminal bench who worked tirelessly, even when there could be no jury trials, to effectively dispose of a large number of criminal cases.”
    Formerly of Headley’s Land, Bank Hall, St Michael, Bynoe was found guilty in July 2016 of the murder of six women – Shanna Griffith, Kelly-Ann Welch, Pearl Cornelius, Kellishaw Olivierre, Nikita Belgrave and Tiffany Harding – in the Campus Trendz blaze on Tudor Street, The City.
    He was ordered to be hanged, but in 2018 the CCJ ruled that Barbados’ mandatory death penalty amounted to cruel and unusual punishment, in the historic Jabari Nervais And Dwayne Severin vs The Queen case.
    Through his attorney, Bynoe had appealed on nine grounds but they were challenged by Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Alliston Seale. Yesterday, Justice of Appeal Margaret Reifer said the original Court of Appeal panel had found no merit in the nine grounds, but since the mandatory death sentence had been removed, the sentence would be vacated and the court would be remitting Bynoe’s matter back to the High Court.
    Pilgrim confirmed his intention to appeal to the CCJ.

    Source: Nation

  13. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    Back page of Barbados Today.

    “association takes steps to disbar convicted lawyers”

  14. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ Hants
    What disbar convicted lawyers what??!!
    This is just the usual bull shit that is to be expected from an profession where it has become undeniable that stealing from clients is ENDEMIC.
    ANYONE who hires a lawyer who has already been convicted of thief, DESERVES what they will get.

    The REAL issue, and what the Bar Association SHOULD be addressing, is protecting the public from those lawyers NOT YET CONVICTED, but from whom the public needs protection.
    The way to do this is to be PROACTIVE with complaints received, be transparent with investigations, and to POLICE the ongoing activities of their peers.

    The lotta shiite PR talk has become overbearing …..

  15. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    3 sons added to the legal fraternity.

  16. David Avatar
    David

    Defence attorney asks for suspended sentence

    THE COURT has been urged to give convicted attorney Ernest Winston Jackman a suspended sentence and the opportunity to repay the remainder of more than $600 000 he stole from a client 15 years ago.
    “Whatever sentence is passed should be to enable him that opportunity to make good that balance. I am asking the court to give him that opportunity, to give him a suspended sentence with some alternative to repay the balance, if it is possible, anything that would enable him to be able to continue to practise. And if he makes good, obviously an opportunity to clear his record,” said defence attorney Sally Comissiong.
    “Don’t brush him with the same brush as all the other attorneys. He has made a mistake and he is trying to repay,” she added.
    Comissiong’s submission on sentence came when Jackman reappeared in the No. 5 Supreme Court yesterday.
    Jackman, 67, of Wiltshire Plantation House, Wiltshire, St Philip, was found guilty of stealing $678 414.75, between June 23, 2006
    and March 5, 2007, belonging to HEJ Ltd.
    The attorney was also convicted of directly engaging in transactions totalling $678 414.75, between June 23, 2006 and October 18, 2011, being the proceeds of crime.
    Comissiong said he had so far repaid $392 000.
    She said Jackman had a “lucrative civil practice” and had been in the profession for over 40 years.
    “Given an opportunity he should be able to make his payments shortly. He is ready and willing to repay. He just needs that opportunity to do so,” she told the court.
    She said she had hoped to have a cheque for the remaining balance of $286 414 “but there have been a lot of stumbles, but he has made an effort.
    “Yes, he had been infelicitous in terms of having used the money. Unfortunately, the venture which he had intended that would be able to repay the money, unfortunately it fell through and he found himself holding the stick which had brought him before the court,” Comissiong said.
    “But I dare to say his case is different. I talk subject to correction, but I don’t think any of the other lawyers who appeared before these courts, any of them made any effort at all to repay any of the money,” she submitted.
    The defence counsel also touched on Jackman’s trial.
    She said he was not familiar with criminal procedure and that was why he had not cross-examined any of the prosecution’s witnesses.
    Comissiong added if he had defence counsel, that attorney would have been able to bring out that Jackman had repaid some of the money he stole.
    “It was not his intention to deprive the complainant of his money,” she said, adding that Jackman’s actions had caused him embarrassment and humiliation.

    Source: Nation

  17. David Avatar
    David

    Lawyer willing to repay the money

    CONVICTED ATTORNEY Ernest Winston Jackman says he is willing to repay the outstanding balance of the money he stole from HEJ Ltd more than ten years ago.
    But to do so, he said, he needed to be out of prison.
    “It is my desire to pay the balance of the money to the complainant,” he said, as he begged the No. 5 Supreme Court to impose a non-custodial sentence on him.
    “I respect and accept the verdict of the jury and I tried not to waste the court’s time. However, it is not possible to be able to do it from where I am and I request that I be allowed the scope and opportunity to secure the balance to the complainant,” he said.
    Jackman, 67, of Wiltshire Plantation House, Wiltshire, St Philip, was back before Justice Pamela Beckles after he was found guilty of stealing $678 414.75, between June 23, 2006 and March 5, 2007, belonging to HEJ Ltd.
    The lawyer was also convicted of directly engaging in transactions totalling $678 414.75, between June 23, 2006 and October 18, 2011, being the proceeds of crime.
    Attorney Sally Comissiong appeared as amicus for Jackman, while Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney appeared for the state.
    Justice Pamela Beckles will deliver her sentence on November 9.
    Jackman began by saying he was both “embarrassed and ashamed” to have found
    himself before the court and that he “deeply regretted” his actions.
    He added he wanted to “sincerely apologise” to complainant John Huggins, but said the convictions resulted from “a transaction that broke down”.
    “There was no deliberate act on my part to deprive HEJ of his transaction. It was a transaction that fell through,” he said as he maintained he was not trying to justify his actions.
    “My actions have been and continue to be a source of shame for me. I did make efforts to repay the balance but I was unable to do so because of some difficulties. I am now confident I will be able to do so.”
    Jackman begged for leniency and mercy as he asked that the court “impose a non-custodial sentence in the circumstances”.
    His character witness, Lawson Yearwood, described the convicted attorney as reliable, forthright in his dealings and “someone I consider trustworthy”.
    “I never had any reason to be distrustful of Mr Jackman,” he said, adding news of Jackman’s charges and convictions were a surprise to him.
    “But being someone who has dealt with financial matters I understand the difficulties one sometimes faces and I, therefore, while acknowledging there have been infelicities on Mr Jackman’s part, I don’t think there was any intention to deliberately deprive,” the witness said.
    Yearwood said he understood Jackman had repaid some of the money and this
    was “a tribute to his good character”.
    “I would want to say that I hoped that Mr Jackman’s efforts to correct the problems which have been caused would redound to his benefit in relation to any decision of the court,” he added.
    When cross-examined by Delaney, the retired banker admitted he would be upset if someone had stolen the nest egg he had been putting away for his retirement.
    “But there are circumstances which might have caused that person to have taken the actions they have taken which might taint my view,” he said.

    Source: Nation

  18. David Avatar
    David

    Court needs to send a strong message, says Acting DPP

    ERNEST JACKMAN should get eight to nine years for stealing John Huggins’ retirement nest egg and using it as his “own personal piggy bank”.
    So said Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Krystal Delaney, as she dismissed suggestions that the convicted lawyer had willingly repaid a portion of the money he stole from the elderly man.
    “This is a significant breach of trust and the threshold for a custodial sentence has been crossed. A suspended sentence is not appropriate in the circumstances of this case. An immediate custodial sentence is not only merited but is necessary and warranted in this case,” Delaney told the No. 5 Supreme Court.
    “This money was his retirement
    plan and he had to make alternative plans when his money was stolen. That was a significant aggravating factor.
    “When Mr Jackman chose to use Mr Huggins’ money as his own personal piggy bank, I can’t see how that could be a transaction that broke down,” Delaney declared.
    “He used Mr Huggins’ money as if it was his own money. It seems to me he decided Mr Huggins had money and he used it like it was his own. He had no right using it in the first place,” the state prosecutor told the court.
    Delaney added that Jackman’s part repayment was as a result of a default judgment handed down by a civil court.
    “There was no great realisation that he had to do the right thing. It was the court ordering him to repay,” she said as she suggested the starting point for his theft conviction should be eight to nine years.
    She asked Justice Pamela Beckles not to order compensation in light of the civil court’s judgment against Jackman.
    The prosecutor further submitted the starting point for the money laundering offence should be ten years.
    “The court needs to send a message that this sort of offence will not be tolerated,” Delaney said.
    Justice Pamela Beckles will deliver her sentence on November 9.

    Source: Nation

  19. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Have you ever misread something and gave yourself a laugh… I read “to repay” as “to enjoy” and had to read it twice.”
    “THE COURT has been urged to give convicted attorney Ernest Winston Jackman a suspended sentence and the opportunity to repay ̶e̶n̶j̶o̶y̶ the remainder of more than $600 000 he stole from a client 15 years ago.”

    Obviously the man has a good lawyer. I want a lawyer that is willing to admit he/she may be telling a lie (“subject to correction”)
    “But I dare to say his case is different. I talk subject to correction, but I don’t think any of the other lawyers who appeared before these courts, any of them made any effort at all to repay any of the money,”

  20. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    Let me commend the blogmaster for his approach in handling the other matter.

    Silly me. To be honest, I was not aware of the passion that he felt on those issues as I thought he was just phoning it in. He may be more measured than some of us, does not wear his emotions on his sleeve, but the concern is genuine.

    I must also agree with Lorenzo ( Lawd, help me), The blogmaster needs to be careful when these matters come to his attention.

    A phrase to keep in mind “No good deed goes ununished”. Keep up the good work.

  21. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    For those who had difficulty with the word ununished I meant eunuch 🙂
    Typo Tuesday

  22. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    Laugh of the day

    CONVICTED ATTORNEY Ernest Winston Jackman says he is willing to repay the outstanding balance of the money he stole from HEJ Ltd more than ten years ago.
    But to do so, he said, he needed to be out of prison
    +++++++++++
    He had the opportunity to repay the money during the ten years when he was out of prison, now he wants out of jail so he can repay the funds.

    At least he has some contrition for his actions not like a couple of the most recent who have denied, denied, denied, one even had character witnesses appearing on her behalf, and the other who was suffering from early onset “dementia” as he couldn’t remember where the money had gone.

    Time for a lawyers’ wing at Dodds, may I suggest “Sticky fingers Chambers”

  23. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    TheO,

    That is what I have been trying to tell you all for a while. Yet the slings shots and arrows keep coming.

    Re Ernest Jackman, I wonder what his victim would prefer. However, I wonder how Jackman intends to earn the funds for repayment, considering that no-one would hire him in Barbados as an attorney ever again and he is 67 years of age. I wonder if he has property he can sell and why it would not have already been sold.

  24. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @David
    Made a comment on this thread, would appreciate you checking your spam

  25. David Avatar
    David

    Murder accused getting $95 000

    by HEATHER-LYNN EVANSON
    heatherlynevanson@nationnews.com
    THE STATE’S CRIMINAL PROSECUTORIAL ARM has been lambasted by a civil court judge for a delay of nearly 15-years, four of which were spent conducting a preliminary inquiry, in an accused man’s murder matter.
    Justice Cicely Chase called the delay in murder accused Larry Patrick Agard’s matter “unreasonable” and “unconstitutional”.
    “The state ought to have vigorously pursued the preliminary inquiry as speedily as possible and not portray what seemingly comes across as a lackadaisical approach to justice and the gathering of evidence,” she said yesterday.
    “Firm control was in the hands of the court at all times and accused ought not to have been allowed at any point in time to prolong the start of the preliminary inquiry or to seek to prolong the preliminary inquiry while seeking representation,” the judge noted.
    “How can any reasonable court or officer, tasked with administering justice, opine that it is just and reasonable and equitable for an accused individual who may very well be discharged at the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry, to be subjected to committal proceedings which lasted four years?
    Unacceptable
    “Four years to complete a preliminary inquiry is totally unacceptable, given that there were physical resources available for the preliminary inquiry to be conducted expeditiously and especially since the preliminary inquiry was riddled with delay from its inception to conclusion,” she said.
    She has also suggested criminal matters be heard in at least six months from the date of charge.
    “This court is of the opinion there must be an implementation of timelines – for example, six months per each stage, to be strictly followed by all parties involved in the administration of justice,” Justice Chase said.
    “Such timelines would be particularly useful in the criminal jurisdiction of both the Magistrates’ Courts and High Courts. These proposed guidelines would ensure that delay is diminished from arrest or detention to release, or alternatively to arrest, charge, trial and sentencing or acquittal. The proposed timelines would also ensure the speedy disposal of criminal matters and encourage those involved in the administration of justice to adopt a practical and efficient approach to the handling of criminal matters,” she said.
    As a result, the judge not only awarded Agard a total of $95 000 in damages but she also sent his 2006 murder charge back to the High Court for it to be dismissed.
    Her comments came as she gave
    her decision in a civil suit brought by Queen’s Counsel Larry Smith on behalf of Agard.
    Agard, whose last address was given as Olton Road, Carrington Village, St Michael, is accused of murdering Marville John on June 8, 2006.
    Agard had contended the Attorney General breached his rights to a hearing within a reasonable time and he had asked the civil court to release him from his murder charge and order the state to pay him costs and damages for breaching those constitutional rights.
    He was arrested and charged in 2006. The preliminary inquiry commenced in January 2007 and concluded in 2011. The matter was then committed to the High Court for trial but is yet to be heard.
    No reasonable explanation
    “The time was not only unreasonable from charge to commencement and conclusion of the preliminary inquiry, but also from committal of [Agard] to the High Court to the filing of the constitutional motion,” Justice Chase noted.
    “[Agard’s] preliminary inquiry lasted four years. Furthermore, between 2011 and 2020 the state continued to engage in further delay of the disposal of the charge by failing to try [Agard] shortly after he was committed to stand trial at the Assizes, with no reasonable explanation being given for such a delay.”
    She held that Agard’s constitutional rights, as afforded by Section 11 (a) of the Constitution, were infringed as a result of the state’s failure to afford him a speedy resolution of his criminal matter. That failure, the judge declared, resulted in undue uncertainty of the outcome with possible sanction in relation to the pending criminal charge.
    She also held that the infringement of Agard’s constitutional rights subjected him to rumour, gossip, stigmatisation, loss of privacy, stress and anxiety resulting from his family, social and work life.
    She ordered the state to pay Agard $85 000 in compensation for the breach of his rights, in addition to $10 000 for vindicatory damages.
    Justice Chase stressed that the lives, liberty and security of people were to be protected by all agents of the state.
    “By ensuring that the life, liberty and security of an individual, an accused, are protected, the state’s agents must actively engage in case management and must ensure that there is a speedy disposal of criminal matters from charge to trial and even to appeal of sentence,” she said.
    Her comments echoed those of Justice Carlisle Greaves, who has repeatedly expressed displeasure with the slow pace of getting matters out of the Magistrates’ Court and on for trial, as well as the associated backlog.
    He recently questioned why, if the scourge of firearms was as serious as social commentators said it was, it would take six years to get a simple possession matter before the High Court.
    He has said the remedy was not for the courts to keep accused in custody for inordinate lengths of time while waiting on files from the police or for matters to get out of the Magistrates’ Courts.
    “It cannot be sufficient to charge a man but not produce the files,” Justice Greaves had said.

    Source: Nation

  26. TheoGazerts Avatar
    TheoGazerts

    Someon was questioning the mathematics
    18 months -$75,000; 11 years $60,000
    Me? I just want to see the calculations.
    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/01/former-accused-wins-more-money-as-judge-laments-underfunded-justice-system/

  27. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/03/govt-to-appeal-payouts-granted-to-former-accused-for-constitutional-breaches/

    This guy has made so many mistakes that I lost track of them.

    The big joke is these mistakes cost the people and the GoB of the Rob money. Wasn’t there something that he failed to appeal or that he appealed and lost which the government had to make a payout on?

    Lawyers probably see his threat as the promised of a second payday coming their way.

    –xx–
    From BT (same article)
    “One of the challenges that we face is that we have a very small criminal bar. There are a few specific lawyers who specialise and who are most sought after in criminal cases. There are very important criminal cases that cannot be heard simply because those lawyers are already involved in other cases that are either pending or scheduled. There is a murder case that for me is of vital importance in Barbados but because of the unavailability of the lawyer, time and time again it gets moved down,”

    https://barbadosbarassociation.com/members_directory.cfm

    I believe that there are over 105 criminal lawyers (mistakenly referred to as Criminal Defense Attorneys).

    Is that too few criminal lawyers? It appears that clients select from a small subset of these criminal lawyers.

    Can you imagine being in the B group, getting a case and then a large settlement. As days of plenty may be few and far between, you have to keep the client’s money in your possession.

  28. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    I take no delight in separating facts from hot air
    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/09/03/top-cop-relatives-helping-to-move-guns-from-one-jurisdiction-to-another/

    From BT
    “In addition to the overseas activity, what has been discovered is that family members of persons who reside in the island are getting onboard now and facilitating the movement of firearms from one jurisdiction to our jurisdiction and that is [of] some concern to us.

    “That is something that must be called out, something that must be highlighted and action taken against, because once we identify those persons then our partners will work with us and we will bring that situation under control,” Boyce said during a press conference on Friday afternoon at the police’s Roebuck Street headquarters.

    **** What is he saying here?
    Is he saying that if the criminals did not have relatives, the problem would be solved.?
    Is he saying that if we had fewer criminals, the problem would be solved be solved?
    Crime families and families participating in crime is a part of the real world. He needs to tackle the problems confronting the police force and put aside the wishful thinking.

    From BT
    I must say that on a daily basis we are recovering firearms. Currently we are at 75 firearms in recovery and when we compare that to just 36 or so that were recovered last year that is a tremendous divide between last year’s recovery and this year’s recovery.

    “So our inputs, our tactics are working in terms of recovery of firearms and that is something that is ongoing and we intend to continue that for a very, very long time,” Boyce said.

    *** What is he saying here? Stop the victory lap.
    Reductio ad absurdum.
    Let us assume that one year there are 360oo illegal guns and he recovered 36. The next year he recovers 75? On the surface he doubled the number of guns captured, but the problem has been made worse as there are a few more thousand guns floating around. Stop beating your chest and taking a victory lap.

    From BT
    “In terms of persons who are getting engaged in this firearms issue, what we discovered is that they are persons who are well known to each other; persons who would have gone to school together, persons who as we would say, pitched marbles together, travelled on school buses together, these are the persons who are against each other’s throats.

    *** Hey! Guy, this should be a positive for the police.
    Try to get a member of one team to rat out the other team (bet you didn’t think of that … you are welcome), Be glad they are turning on each other and not the general public.

    From BT
    “Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, David Griffith also noted that the same firearm had been used in more than one shooting incident.

    Boyce said the police would also be paying extra attention to the island’s ports of entry to ensure that illegal firearms could not pass through undetected.”

    ***Brilliant!
    You are getting it.
    A gun can be fired more than once.
    Some of these guns are coming through our legal ports of entry.
    It took a few years, but we are making progress.

  29. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    ” There is a murder case that for me is of vital importance in Barbados but because of the unavailability of the lawyer, time and time again it gets moved down,”

    WHICH CASE AND WHICH LAWYER ?

  30. Hants Avatar
    Hants

    @ TheOGazerts,

    If you choose to retire in Barbados. you could acquire a ” guttaperk “and 2 big dogs.

    If you need a demonstration on how to use a ” guttaperk ” check ” Yoki Sturrup ” on YouTube.

  31. David Avatar
    David

    Attorney Pile out of prison
    ATTORNEY VONDA PILE is out of prison. Reports indicate that Pile was released from Dodds Prison late last week after serving a three-year jail sentence.
    However, her troubles are far from over as she faces another theft charge.
    It was back in June, 2019, that Pile was found guilty by a 7-2 majority jury verdict of stealing $191 416.39 (US$96 008.22) from former client Anstey King between April 29, 2009, and October 26, 2010. The money was for the purchase of land.
    Justice Pamela Beckles sentenced Pile to three years in prison, less 94 days. She was, however, released on bail pending an appeal but after a year later the Court of Appeal affirmed her conviction and sent her back to prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.
    However, a defiant Pile filed for special leave to take the matter before the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
    That court also rejected her application, finding that “there is no realistic possibility that a potentially serious miscarriage of justice may have occurred, and that given the proposed grounds of appeal no point of law of general public importance has been raised . . . . The application for special leave to appeal is refused”.
    Pile, a 30-year veteran of the legal fraternity, who maintained her innocence, was accused of stealing the money from her client which was part of a larger amount for the purchase of land at Maxwell, Christ Church.
    The complainant had sent the deposit and purchase money to Pile but when he came to Barbados and saw the land he said it was not the plot that he had agreed to buy and asked for his money back. Pile returned some of the funds.
    Last year while Pile was still serving that sentence she was committed to the High Court on another theft charge when she appeared in the District “A” Magistrates’ Court.
    This time she is accused of stealing $205 481, between January 11, 2007,
    and March 16, 2011, being the proceeds of a Royal Bank of Canada cheque payable to Patricia Hall. (MB)

    Source: Nation

  32. Grantly Avatar
    Grantly

    This is absolute madness. This woman should be pernamently disbarred from the legal profession. If convicted she should deservedly entitled to 10 – 15 years in prison and all her possessions, assets seized and returned to the claimant.

  33. David Avatar
    David

    What is interesting is that the conviction does not automatically debar her or any lawyer for that matter. There is a separate process the Bar has to bring.

  34. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ David
    Would a panel of Bushy Park (no pun intended) enthusiasts tek way the license of another Bushy Part regular who got themselves caught speeding…?

    If wunna start that shiite we will only have three lawyers left in Barbados..
    (well two now, since a recent change.. LOL ha ha ).

  35. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    This issue is linked to too many lawyers accepted by an adoring and passive electorate? Who to blame again?

  36. Grant Avatar
    Grant

    Solution….give them bushtea daily, tie the bush around them and hope it purges their dishonesty and fraudulent behaviour

  37. Grantly Avatar
    Grantly

    Really!… One would think that the Law Society would have covered up this loophole in its constitution to deter lawyers from the abuse and misuse of clients funds. Mindful enough where imperiling the financial welfare of clients who seek his /her representation can be insured. The frequency of similar lawyer /client theft is known by the Law society and not closely policing this growing trend and problem is repulsive.
    Someone asks me ” does free legal education give rise to some undeserved?”…..some of these folks are entrusted with large sums of money. I am still pondering my answer…. if a self financed law cert would have separated the tares from the wheat. Years ago we never had this, It was unknown and abominable to occur………then again, there was no free lawyer education in those times.

  38. TheOGazertds Avatar
    TheOGazertds

    ” does free legal education give rise to some undeserved?”

    Who are the undeserved? That is where we part company. Taken to a logical then this could be seen as advocating only the rich and powerful are deserving. If you are poor, you need not apply.
    You will find that thieves come in all shapes, sizes, colors, ethnicity, financial condition ….

  39. Grantly Avatar
    Grantly

    My references were to those with unlawfu/illegal tendancies. The Word “undeserved” Was not referring to poor and unfortunate. That was definitely not the intention of the writer to refer to poor or unfortunate applicants. Rich folks can also be undeserves. Undeserved does not mean the impoverished. as you have thought. I could have used another word “unmerited” My statement did not advocate the rich and powerful as deserving…..not even remotely.. The point in that statement may have been missed and thats understandable.

  40. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    @Grantl
    Thank you. I now offer you a semi-apology.

    I had a very good idea of what you meant, but chose to reply that way. Why?

    Though free education was given to all, the word free can trigger a strange response in some. They would ignore the rich that benefited and focus on the poor that did. Some have the opinion that the poor are undeserving.

    Forgive me for torturing your phrase

  41. grant Avatar
    grant

    no problem…. but thanks for your interjection, it encourages me to communicate issues with more clarity and lucidity.

  42. TLSN Avatar
    TLSN

    This big guts Attorney-at-law Norman, Leroy Lynch, will be sentenced on the 13th March.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2023/03/07/daughter-of-deceased-says-family-suffering-while-lawyer-who-stole-money-lived-lavish-life/

  43. Grantly Avatar
    Grantly

    …..and no money was recovered……he probably has securely tucked away or transferred to a friend temporally.. crooked bastard

  44. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    What is sinful and shameful is that we go through the motions of a trial and the money is never recovered.

    I strongly believe that if the end game is the lawyer gets to keep his/her ill-gotten loot, then we should end having these farcical trials which mislead victims/unfortunates

  45. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ TheO
    Be reasonable.

    What you are missing, is the simple FACT that ANY attempt to ‘follow the money’ of ANY lawyer bout here, opens a Pandora’s box of epic proportions which, EVEN IN Brassbados, would end up with serious overcrowding at Dodds.
    in particular, do not expect that commonsense actions related to FAIR RESTITUTION to innocent clients will be forthcoming any time soon…
    That would start a dirtball rolling from Mount Hillaby all the way to WhitePark Road….

    LOL
    FAR too much dirt would be exposed boozie…

  46. David Avatar
    David

    AG: Bar should point out tardy judges
    There as some judges with “persistently delayed decisions” and Attorney General Dale Marshall has chided the Bar Association for not lodging complaints against them.
    Speaking as debate continued on the 2023/24 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure in the House of Assembly yesterday, Marshall conceded that he might be unpopular for pointing out what he felt were “genuine cases” where the Bar should have stepped up against “persistently delaying members of the judiciary”.
    Appellate courts, he pointed out, have suggested that judges give rulings within four to six weeks of hearing a case and six months in particularly complex matters.
    One of the amendments by the Barbados Labour Party since coming to office in 2018 made provision for a complaint to be lodged against judges if they take longer than six months to deliver a ruling.
    Raise complaints
    “I can tell you I’ve had meetings with the Bar Association – and I supposed I may be unpopular for saying this – but I genuinely felt there were some instances where the Bar ought to raise complaints against persistently delaying members of the judiciary. The response that was given to me unofficially was that nobody wants to bell this particular cat because if you complain, you feel there are going to be recriminations,
    if not from the same judge, then from other judges.
    “If you look through the window, what will you see? You will see a number of judges with persistently delayed decisions. You will see no reports made to the office of the Prime Minister or President,” the Attorney General said.
    Along with outlining the plans for the agencies under his office with a proposed budget of $197 million, Marshall was in the Well of Parliament responding to questions, in this instance from his parliamentary colleague Marsha Caddle who asked about benchmarks for judges.
    He stated none of the parties affected in the delayed decisions was taking action.
    “We are dealing with the reluctance to hold people to account because nobody wants to stand out and say I am going to be bold enough to lodge a complaint against Judge X or Judge Y,” Marshall said.
    He had earlier told the House that a deputy registrar solely for the criminal courts had been appointed, and the number of judges increased to cope with the backlog of cases overall.
    “At the end of the day when the rubber hit the road, judges need to give decisions faster. I called for it and complained about [it] when I was in opposition and I will not resile from that position now. I can say that by adding additional judges, we have seen a faster delivery of some decisions. That tends to be because particular judges are
    working fast,” he said, pointing to recent decisions involving the elections and constitutionality of the COVID-19 directives.
    The St Joseph Member of Parliament said that by increasing the number of judges and having some focus on only criminal matters, decisions were forthcoming but in spite of the strides made, better could be done.
    Marshall said technology was also being used more with the voice-totext system and scopists who check transcripts for accuracy.
    “We have to ramp up that capacity because we keep adding judges but we haven’t been adding those additional services,” he said. ( AC)


    Source: Nation

  47. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    Steupsss!!
    This comment from the AG characterizes the ridiculous process that has been ongoing in the House of Assembly of Jokers for the past weeks.
    -We elect ‘LEADERS’ to represent OUR collective interests.
    -THEY appoint officials to do the work
    -Then the parade the people that THEY appointed in public, to take the licks for the shiite that is ongoing.

    Standard management practice is that those with ultimate responsibility step forward to accept, and deal with WEAKNESSES, while sorting out their internal inefficiencies in private.

    Instead we have these jokers looking to grab the spotlight with every idiotic, knee-jerk, ‘initiative’, only to blame the friends & family that THEY appointed when the shit hits the fan.

    But brass bowls like that kinda thing, so Bushie is just observing….

  48. David Avatar
    David

    @Bush Tea

    Explain yourself!

    You want Mottley and her AG (Executive) to pursue a dictatorial approach as it pertains to lawyers being intimidated to hold lazy judges (Judiciary) accountable?

  49. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    RU4Real David?

    You REALLY think that it is the duty of the Bar Club to enforce proper performance on their members who are employed by the crown?

    Boss, the ONLY interest of the Bar is to protect their professional status and to ensure that no kind of audit of client fees EVER occurs bout here, and to ensure that the bar remains ’solid’…

    It is the role of the damn ADMINISTRATION (ie the Ministry, PS, AG, and ultimate the PM) to ensure that proper management practices and RESULTS are obtained for the salaries paid.

    You had better have ANOTHER look at the MPH video about Singapore….

    It is actually simply a matter of setting MINIMUM performance STANDARDS and enforcing them. (Check out what a ‘meritocracy’ means).

    The idea that adding more lazy, unsupervised judges to the pool of non-performers would do ANYTHING except increase the Mercedes Benz fleet was always laughable….

  50. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    The blogmaster reminds me of a man on a bus for which has lost its four wheels four wheels. Instead of looking at his dire situation, the man takes the time to point out the four wheel are still rolling down the highway.

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