KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government is being urged not to proceed further with the proposed elimination of jury trials in non-capital murder cases involving the use of a gun, without first consulting broadly with the public, including key stakeholders in the justice system.

Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Senator Mark Golding, issued a statement today arguing that the amendments were brought to Parliament on Tuesday without prior consultation with the legal profession, the Judiciary, the Opposition or the wider public.  

He said the proposed amendments to two bills would eliminate jury trials for most murders in the country.

“It is quite extraordinary that the Government is seeking, without any stakeholder consultation whatsoever, to take away the longstanding right to a trial by jury in relation to the majority of murder cases in Jamaica (ie those involving a firearm),” Golding reasoned.

He said, based on the remarks of at least one Government minister in the House on Tuesday, it appears that the thinking behind this move is that it will help to reduce the backlog of cases in the courts. This, Golding said, does not seem to be evidence-based reasoning.

The Opposition spokesman is of the opinion that in the absence of compelling reasons supported by clear data, Jamaica should be slow to impose on a single judge the grave task of deciding the guilt or innocence of a person accused of the crime of murder.

“Many reforms of the Justice System have come on stream over the past four years, including the recent revamping of plea bargaining. There are other agreed reforms that are still in the pipeline. All this significant effort needs to be given a chance to work,” argued Golding.