MONTEGO BAY, St James — Annoyed by a court process he said has been abandoned by the United Kingdom, which originally put the system
in place, a defence lawyer has questioned the effectiveness of committal proceedings.

These are court hearings held in criminal court to decide whether there is sufficient evidence against an accused for him to face trial in a higher court.

Faced with yet another delay when his client’s murder case was called up before St James Parish Court last Wednesday, attorney Michael Hemmings did not mince words.

“The Committal Proceedings Act speaks to how an extension can be granted. There is nothing complex about that requirement…We can’t keep coming to court for these matters — when documents are needed and there are inordinate delays — and we have to wait protracted periods to get what we need. It does not sit well with me,” he said.

Hemmings’ comments came after the court was told the post-mortem report — a crucial piece of evidence — had not yet been completed and that an extension was being sought.

“This committal proceedings that we are now utilising, we got it from the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom has since abolished it because it is not working, and they have gone back to the preliminary stage. It is clearly not working for us,” he added.

In response, presiding judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton stated that while she is aware of the time frame established by the rules and regulations governing committal proceedings, these regulations allow for extensions beyond the initial 60-day period.

The judge also acknowledged the challenge of accessing timely post-mortem reports and pointed out that despite the Act’s requirement for the hearing to be held within 60 days of the defendant’s initial appearance before the court, they had never received a report within this time frame.

“The Government lab which is responsible for producing these documents is not able to keep up with the demand for post-mortem reports so, unfortunately, we are in a sad state where we cannot get these documents within the time period,” Fairclough-Hylton said.

The exchange between her and the defence attorney came as they dealt with a murder charge against 33-year-old Ewan “Cautious” Largie. He has been accused of killing his father-in-law, 54-year-old Ovel Reid. Both men lived in Anchovy, St James, at the time of Reid’s death.

“While I’m aware of the challenges faced by Mr Largie and the need for the matter to be completed in the shortest possible time, the document is a crucial piece of document in order for the Crown to mount a prima facie case for the offence of murder,” the judge continued in response to Hemmings’ concerns.

She emphasised the need for the Crown to prove that Reid is dead and that he did not die from natural causes.

“In the circumstances, I will grant the extension of time to the Crown… It is unfair to the accused but it is also unfair to the family members of the victim. Here you have someone die from August 16 and you waiting until October for a post-mortem so that you can bury your loved one,” Fairclough-Hylton added.

The extension of time was granted until December 10, and the case was set for mention on December 3.

Largie was previously granted bail in the amount of $600,000 with up to three sureties, but Hemmings requested a variation, claiming that the family could not afford that amount. However, the judge did not lower the bail amount.

According to reports, around 11:30 pm on August 16 Largie got into a physical altercation with his child’s mother, during which Reid intervened and asked him to leave the premises.

The allegations are that Largie left then returned and hit Reid in the head with a stone before fleeing.

Police were summoned to the scene by residents, and Reid was assisted to the hospital where he was pronounced dead while undergoing treatment.

Residents handed Largie over to police later that day, and he was charged five days later.