KINGSTON, Jamaica — Despite being on the law books since 2017, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck, is dissatisfied at the limited use of the Plea Negotiations and Agreements Act by both the prosecution and defence.

Chuck spoke to the issue during Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives where he tabled amendments to the Jury Act that will see the stipend paid to individuals who are selected for jury duty moved from $2,000 to $6,000 daily.

Stating that he, like the chief justice, is cognisant that “we cannot try all cases within a reasonable time,” Chuck said, “that is why I pushed for the passage of the far-reaching Plea Negotiations and Agreements Act, 2017”.

“The objective of the Plea Negotiations and Agreements Act is to establish a formal legal framework for plea negotiations and agreements in criminal proceedings, with a view to promoting the efficient disposition of cases, reducing delays and case backlogs, ensuring transparency and fairness in the plea-bargaining process, safeguarding the rights of accused persons, and preserving judicial oversight in the public interest and the interest of justice” Chuck stated.

He pointed out that the legislation allows the accused and the prosecution to negotiate a lighter sentence in exchange for a voluntary guilty plea.

“Great urgency on my part was expressed for it to be fully utilised,” he said. However, that has not been the case.

The justice minister told the House that, “It is an open secret that in the United States plea bargaining plays a major role in the outcome of criminal cases. As it now stands, more than 90 per cent of criminal cases in the US are resolved through plea bargains, with some estimates placing the figure at 97 to 98 per cent in the Federal Courts, making trials the rare exception”.

“Unfortunately, the reverse seems to be the case in Jamaica where the majority of matters go to trial,” he remarked.

Chuck argued that “We need not rely solely on the accused pleading guilty under the Criminal Justice Administration Act to benefit from a sentence reduction”.

He said that in keeping with the protocol in other progressive justice systems, “it is my view that the prosecution can, in more cases, proceed differently by more proactively making the offer of plea negotiation where the case file is completed rather than waiting on the defence or the accused to make the request”.

“I am also imploring the defence bar, where appropriate, to encourage their clients to take up plea bargaining. I recognise that there have been instances where the prosecution has made a plea-bargaining offer and the retort is ‘I will take my chances in court’. The process must be different,” said Chuck.

He stressed that not every case needs to go to trial, adding that “I have no doubt that if the plea negotiation legislation is suitably utilised, we could have many more cases expeditiously completed with all parties involved feeling that justice is served”.

–        Lynford Simpson