Only 21 new cases among 996 matters set for new term of Home Circuit Court
KINGSTON, Jamaica — A total of 996 cases led by 556 murder matters are scheduled to be heard in the new Hilary Term of the Home Circuit Court, which runs from January to April.
However, it must be noted that majority of the cases set for the new term are matters that have been transferred from the previous Michaelmas Term.
The overall cases for this term represent a 7.32 per cent increase over last year’s Hillary Term, which had 928.
With murders accounting for the bulk of cases, the second highest number of matters on the list is sexual offences, which stands at 338 and includes 189 cases of rape, 76 cases of sexual intercourse with a person under 16 and 24 cases of buggery.
Of the nearly 1000 cases set for the new term, only 21 cases are new, 16 pf which are murders.
Meanwhile the statistics, which were released by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), showed that of the 1090 cases set in the previous Michaelmas Term, only 115 were disposed. Tanesha Mundle
