ANOTHER two of the island’s prosecutors have resigned from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and at least four more are expected to leave by yearend in what insiders have described as a fit of frustration caused by the same old office politics that has been plaguing the department since Kent Pantry became its head five years ago.

Acting Crown Counsel Jermaine Spence and Assistant Deputy Director Lorraine Smith handed in their resignations over the summer break, despite attempts by the government’s Public Services Commission (PSC) to stem the exodus of prosecutors who have been leaving the department in twos and threes in recent years.

“At least four more are in the wings… because the old problems are still there,” said a source close to the department. “People have decided that it’s better to just pack up and go.”

During Pantry’s tenure, at least 15 prosecutors have left the department which has spent a good deal of this year embroiled in controversy occasioned by inexplicably lengthy acting appointments and lack of scope for promotions.

Evidence of the problems reached its ugliest level on June 30 when 22 prosecutors — over 95 per cent of the staff — walked off the job for three days to protest against the Government’s failure to implement a number of measures recommended by a committee that the PSC appointed to investigate the problems at the office.

The committee, which was headed by attorney David Muirhead, was appointed to address the tensions which spilled into the public glare in May when a delegation of senior prosecutors foiled Pantry’s attempt to demote Janice Neathly, a junior prosecutor, to her previous position as a clerk of the St James Resident Magistrate’s Court. Pantry was apparently dissatisfied with Neathly’s handling of a case.

Neathly’s senior colleagues, insisting that their boss had no authority to demote her, took the matter to the PSC which ordered that she remain in her current post.

She resigned shortly after the incident, traumatised by the ordeal, her friends said.

The three-day protest resulted in widespread chaos, as only three juniors — Terrel Lawrence-Butler, Simone Wolfe and Dirk Harrison — were left to hold up the system which requires a contingent of over 30 prosecutors to work efficiently.

The prosecutors returned to the job after the PSC intervened and hammered out a plan aimed at:

* prioritising the public interest and a commitment to preserve, defend and enhance the integrity of the justice system;

* initiating a regime of open communication within a broadly consultative framework;

* finalising the early appointment of an independent mediator to facilitate the team-building process;

* ensuring full and consistent exercise of professional respect in the office on both sides;

* reviewing the allocation of work for coverage of duties in the circuit courts;

* guaranteeing that the PSC will continue to exercise its constitutional role to monitor, encourage and guide the implementation of the new standards and culture; and,

* implementing the recommendations of the Muirhead Committee in a timely manner and in keeping with the provisions of the (Jamaican) Constitution.

However, although Paula Llewellyn, the most senior female in the department, who had become the poster girl for victims of lengthy acting appointments, was subsequently confirmed as a senior deputy director, a number of other recommendations have yet to be enacted.

“Where’s the mediator? The problems are not being addressed,” said the source.

The resignations are likely to increase the threat of closure hanging over the ongoing circuit courts which were established in the parishes of St Catherine, Clarendon and St James almost two years ago with a view to cutting down the persistent backlog of cases that have clogged the system for years.