THE court case for 13 year-old Janice Allen, who was fatally shot by a police constable three years ago, will be heard at a special sitting of the Port Antonio Circuit Court on November 3.

The decision was made when the case came up for mention yesterday during an abbreviated sitting of the circuit court, due to the effects of tropical storm Claudette.

The teenage girl was shot dead in the Trench Town section of Kingston on April 14, 2000. The case was originally before the Corporate Area Court, but was later transferred out of the parish. Family members, supported by the human rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), have expressed concern about the transfer, complaining that it would make it harder for them to observe the proceedings.

They had hoped that the case would have been transferred back to Kingston but based on yesterday’s ruling, it will remain in Port Antonio.

“I will follow the case to wherever it goes — even to Negril, I will attend,” the girl’s mother, Millicent Forbes, told the Observer yesterday, adding that she is committed to getting justice for her slain daughter.

Constable Rohan Allen, who was stationed at the Denham Town police station at the time of the incident, has been charged with the young girl’s death.

He has been suspended from the force and is on $400,000 bail.

The lawman is being represented by Churchill Neita. The matter was yesterday heard by Justice Karl Harrison and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions was represented by Anthony Armstrong.