THE Home Circuit Court in Kingston resumed on Wednesday for the Easter Term with Justice Carol Lawrence-Beswick bemoaning the wide range of excuses provided by people who seek to shirk jury duty and dodge the process.

“Where the trial of choice is the jury, there must actually be persons who answer the call to serve as jurors and who come forward to perform that civic duty. Gone should be the days when judges are inundated with excuses with persons who seek to avoid serving.

“Health issues suddenly come to the fore, and everybody suddenly has diabetes and high blood pressure. Financial challenges loom larger and everybody says they have no day-care facility. So many excuses are presented and often they are without merit, but are simply an effort to avoid service as a juror,” Justice Lawrence-Beswick said, stressing that the willingness of people to serve as jurors is one step towards achieving justice for all.

Jury trials also resumed on Wednesday after being suspended for two years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic’s social distancing requirements.

At the same time, Justice Lawrence-Beswick expressed concerns about people speaking publicly about crime in front of television cameras, but shy away from being witnesses or testifying in court. She stressed that cooporation from witnesses, coupled with the proper and accurate analysis of evidence, are key ingredients to ensuring justice for all.

“We certainly by now are aware that our citizens are willing to tell all when the television cameras are rolling, but when summoned to tell a jury or a judge alone they are often absent. Without evidence that can be examined there can be no justice. The examination of evidence is done ultimately by jurors, where that is the choice of trial, and by the judge alone otherwise. Whether there is justice for all can depend on accurate analysis of how blood was splattered on the wall. It can depend on the presence or absence of an accused or victim’s DNA at a crime scene. Those scientific and technological systems have to be in place and operating for there to be truly justice for all,” she emphasised, adding that for all matters that come before the court, ensuring both the prosecution and the defence are properly represented in court is important.

For legal aid services, Justice Lawrence-Beswick said attorneys ought to be properly remunerated as they are “an integral marker on the journey to justice for all”.

“The case for both sides should be professionally presented. We have attorneys being trained at our law school, and one important factor to ensuring that such presentation is skillful, robust and honest is to ensure that these attorneys are adequately and properly paid. Where retainers are not private, there is provision for legal aid service. Is that remuneration adequate? We as a society must ensure that it is. Proper representation on both sides is integral for there to be justice for all,” Justice Lawrence Beswick charged.

She added: “The person accused of a crime must have a voice, and the victim of a crime must have a voice — even if speaking from the grave — through scientific evidence and technology. Everyone wants justice, but the question is: Are we prepared to play our part to ensure that all the parts are properly functioning? Justice does not just fall from the sky like rain; it takes work and focus.”