NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe. Photo: Dante Carrer
By JADE RUSSELL
Tribune Staff Reporter
jrussell@tribunemedia.net
NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said Long Island MP Adrian Gibson should apologise to judges for saying their biases could affect the outcome of trials where they must render a verdict in the absence of a jury.
The Trial by Judge Alone Bill 2024 was passed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, allowing people to waive their constitutional right to a jury trial in favour of a trial by a judge alone. Mr Gibson expressed concern that a judge’s biases could affect their judgment in bench trials. He said a panel of judges would be better than a single judge, though he noted that this would be costly.
Mr Munroe said yesterday: “To talk about bias is to suggest that a judge will not be true to his judicial oath. Judges swear to do right by all men without fear or favour.”
Mr Munroe noted the case of North Abaco MP Kirk Cornish’s rape trial, where the judge dismissed the jury after learning that a juror had a close relationship with the leader of the opposition,Michael Pintard. Mr Munroe said the judge removed the jury to prevent the risk of bias.
He noted that Mr Gibson has an ongoing trial and suggested that could be altering his perception of judges.
“As a lawyer, he should know he ought not to be suggesting that judges don’t live up to their judicial oath; it’s disrespectful,” he said. “It’s not appropriate, and he really owes the entire judiciary, the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and Privy Council an apology.”
Mr Munroe said few countries that allow bench trials at the Supreme Court or equivalent level have judge panels.
Comments
moncurcool 7 months, 2 weeks ago
We really need to stop printing the nonsensical comments of these brain dead people in the house of assembly.
Corruption runs rampant in this country and judges can be biased. No one is above being biased, especially when some judges are masons
ExposedU2C 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Fully agree; especially in the case of this brain-dead idiot Munroe.
realfreethinker 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Brain dead is putting it mildly. The politicians have given us a road map on how not to trust persons in authority
ExposedU2C 7 months, 2 weeks ago
As previously posted:
This will take our legal system to a whole new level of corruption of the most frightening kind. Lawyers and their clients lobbying for the "right" judge to hear their case will take on a whole new meaning. The one thing our corrupt political ruling class cannot stand more than anything else is our Constitution and the protective rights it gives all Bahamians.
Too many senior judges, now in their twilight years, condescendingly think that they themselves are a superior choice to a jury trial by one's peers. They and other judges will naturally be biased in determining the outcomes of cases where a defendant is "of their own kind" in our society in terms of upbringing, literacy, education and overall social standing and stature. No one person should have the unconstitutional judgement power being proposed in this ridiculous legislation.
Bottomline: To many judges have allowed themselves to become lazy legal louts who really do think less educated persons at the lower end of our society's social spectrum are not capable of serving as a juror. Yet somehow they believe that very same type of person as a defendant would be capable of understanding the consequences of waiving their fundamental constitutional right to a trial by a jury of their peers.
Only lazy judges unwilling and/or unable to communicate with and properly advise and instruct jurors have a reason to fear the dumbed-down D- educated jurors that the failed education and social policies of the political ruling class are responsible for having created in the first place. Yes, it often involves more work on the judge’s part to educate jurors on important aspects of the applicable law but that added effort helps to preserve some of the most important principles behind of our judicial system.
Brain-dead Munroe and others like dumber than dumb Pinder and our corrupt PM Davis no longer consider the many D- educated in our society to be their peers when it comes to jury trials. These two demented imbeciles, and the lazy judges who wish to be elevated to God like status over the rest of us, are hell-bent in their efforts to do away with one of the most fundamental constitutional rights of the Bahamian people, a sacrosanct right that no Bahamian should ever be encouraged by his or her appointed lawyer or any judicial officer to somehow waive.
Sickened 7 months, 2 weeks ago
It so upsetting that these words would come out of Munroe's mouth. Politics has really morally corrupted him. It's very sad. Not sure why he went into politics (money, ego) but he will definitely leave politics with much less respect and admiration than when he went it. Another good man being morally destroyed by the PLP!
ExposedU2C 7 months, 2 weeks ago
All right thinking Bahamians should be screaming for a better public education system and for their constitutional rights to be fully preserved and not in any way watered-down by the granting of unconstitutional choices that should never be allowed to exist.
And all judges who are lazy and pompous really need to take a serious look at themselves in the mirror because the next notch down on this slippery unconstitutional rope is to do away with our judicial system altogether and allow an authoritarian dictator to be the decider of who is innocent or guilty of whatever in our society.
There cannot be two standards of justice in our constitutional democracy. The blindness of Lady Justice demands the power to pass judgement on any matter determining one's right to freedom not rest with a sole judge who may not bear any reasonable semblance to the defendants own true peers in our society.
sheeprunner12 7 months, 2 weeks ago
Just look at the kangaroo court case that the Long Island MP is subjected to right now ............ What else do you expect him to say, and not be held in contempt of court?????
The 242 Judges are heavily biased towards the PLP side of politics ......... that is NO secret.
John 7 months, 2 weeks ago
SO WHAT ABOUT THE CORONERS COURT?’. Which now seems to be moving along nice and smoothly. Don’t you think if one was to interfere with that now and allow police officers to choose to go before a judge rather than a jury trial , this will compromise the process if only by perception. Even if nothing is untoward. Surely witnesses will be more reluctant to go just before a judge as opposed to a jury and the public will feel a jury would be more open to the public sentiments than a judge.
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