JUSTICE Lennox Campbell on Wednesday drew fire from the director of public prosecutions (DPP) after he abruptly terminated jury selection and sent home the four men charged with the murder of a retired police officer 12 years ago.

Between Monday and Wednesday, 11 jurors were empanelled out of the required 12 to complete the panel when Justice Campbell, who had been seething over the issue of jury shortage since Monday, expressed his frustration and told the men that they were free to go.

“Go home,” Campbell told the men in the Home Circuit Court. “I’m not giving you a date to return. Good-bye.”

Campbell also removed the reporting condition of the men — Byron Johnson, Solomon Johnson, Devon Hackett and Carlos Williams — who were on bail.

Surprised by Campbell’s directive, Diahann Gordon Harrison, the deputy director of public prosecutions assigned to the case, sought clarity but the judge insisted that he would not be setting a return date for the men.

Both the prosecution and defence lawyers protested, suggesting that the justice order the police to select persons from off the streets (known in legal circles as tailsmen) to fill the one remaining slot on the panel, but Justice Campbell was firm in his decision, saying that the case had been before the court for the past 11 years and that each accused person had the constitutional right to be tried within a reasonable time of being charged.

Campbell also upbraided the prosecution over the shortage of jurors despite the fact that it is the court staff and the police officers in charge of detention and courts who are responsible for procuring jurors, through the process of summonses.

Defence attorney Valerie Neita-Robertson intervened on the part of the prosecution but she, too, suffered Justice Campbell’s ire.

Contacted by the Observer shortly after court, DPP Paula Llewellyn said that Justice Campbell did not act in accordance with the law in sending home the men.

“The course adopted by the learned trial judge for the disposal of a Circuit Court matter was the wrong approach,” said Llewellyn, who noted that her office had been making concerted efforts to rid the court list of old cases.

“In all my 26 years as a prosecutor I have never seen anything like that. I am extremely disappointed by the judge’s action; that is nothing but a nullity,” Llewellyn said.

Llewellyn said that a case before a jury can only be discharged in one of four ways — by the prosecution entering a nolle prosequi; a panel of jurors being directed by a judge to return a formal verdict of not guilty if the prosecution offers no further evidence; the upholding of a no case submission at the end of the prosecution’s case; or a panel of jurors returning a verdict of not guilty after deliberation on evidence presented during a trial.

The men were jointly charged with the December 1999 shooting death of retired police Corporal James Calder McDonald in Seaforth, St Thomas. McDonald’s throat was also slashed and his firearm stolen.

The case has been on the Home Circuit Court list since September 17, 2001. Court records indicate that there were 38 trial dates and adjournments were granted over the years for various reasons, including a shortage of jurors.

The men can be re-arrested and brought back before the court or summons issued for them to appear.