There is a response Saturday afternoon from the Court Administration Division to the decision by Justice Vinnette Graham Allen to bar the media from covering the first appearance in court of murder accused Jolyan Silvera.
The Court Administration Division is declaring that judges do have authority to restrict media access to certain court matters.
It has been noted by that the indictment against the former Western St. Mary MP was proffered in the Circuit Court Division of the Gun Court and Count 1 charges Mr. Silvera with using a firearm to commit a felony contrary to section 14 (2) of the Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act.
This section is in Part 2 of the Act and it has been further noted that offences under Part 2 are firearm offences under the Gun Court Act; therefore, the Gun Court Act provisions apply.
As a justification of Justice Vinette Graham Allen’s decision Section 13 (1) of the Gun Court Act was highlighted which states states:
In the interest of public safety or public order, no person shall be present at any sitting of the court except – members and officers of the court and any constable or other security personnel required by the Court; parties to the case before the Court, their attorneys, and witnesses giving or having given their evidence, and other persons directly concerned with the case; such other persons as the Court may specifically authorise to be present.
Section 13 (2) of the Gun Court Act was also highlighted which states that – In the interest of public safety, public order or public morality, the Court may direct that: in relation to any witness called or appearing before the Court, the name, the address of the witness, or such other particulars concerning the witness as in the opinion of the Court should be kept confidential, shall not be published; no particulars of the trial other than the name of the accused, the offence charged, and the verdict and sentence shall be published without the prior approval of the Court.
In relying on the provisions of the Gun Court Act, the Court Administration Division further declared that when persons are indicted and placed before the Circuit Court, there is a default presumption of ready access to the proceedings by members of the public including the media but when persons are charged and placed before any Division of the Gun Court, the default position created by section 13 of the Gun Court Act is that members of the public including the media are excluded unless they come within the exceptions.
It was stated that the judge is required to give effect to the policy reflected in the statute which is to create an environment in which witnesses could attend and participate in the proceedings without their identities being made public or any information being made public that would enable them to be identified.
Court Administration Jamaica sought to emphasise that the Judiciary remains committed to upholding the Constitution and applying the statutes passed by the legislature.
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