Unfortunate public differences

Friday, September 24, 2010

Dear Editor,

The public deserves to see unity of purpose between major office holders. It is therefore unfortunate to see public differences between the Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn and Contractor-General Greg Christie as well as between the DPP and Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey.

Llewellyn said she did not want to be distracted by Christie’s claims that she has been less responsive to his reports than her predecessor, Kent Pantry. On the other hand, it may be argued that Llewellyn’s conduct has been a distraction in the case against Kern Spencer. With respect to a request for disclosure, RM Pusey has said to Llewellyn, “Treat this court with a modicum of respect and go and do what you have to do.”

The DPP’s task is unenviable. She has said that she needs to focus on law rather than emotion in performing her tasks. She may find, however, that relationships with other major office holders may require more than attention to the letter of the law. The spirit of justice may require the DPP to share with other major public officials and the public:

• What her office can deliver and how she determines priorities, given limitations of resources.

• What the public can reasonably expect from her office, from receipt of report to decision to prosecute or not. The CG said none of the 30 reports he sent to her had been acknowledged, let alone acted on.

• What policies (as distinct from laws) determine relationships between her office and alleged offenders, victims, witnesses, major office holders, and the general public. Janice Allen’s family, for example, did not feel well served by the DPP’s office. Telephone responses from her legal and administrative staff suggest a need for training and improved supervision, if the DPP values public goodwill.

Building trust in the justice system requires more than an ability to speak well to public gatherings. The DPP may also need to combine a firm grounding in law with sensitivity to a culture of cynicism toward justice. She may therefore be wise to consider ways to engage the public in dialogue. DPPs elsewhere – such as Australia – have interactive websites that she might use as a model to increase public understanding of the office.

The DPP may well find that attention to law needs to be twinned with sensitivity to feelings and culture.

Yvonne McCalla Sobers

sobersy@yahoo.com