A joint select committee (JSC) of Parliament will be established to consider the issue of jury trials versus bench trials, a move that would require an amendment to the Jury Act.

Justice Minister Delroy Chuck is hoping that the JSC will be established as soon as the Parliament concludes the debate on amendments to the Jury Act.

The amendments, which the minister tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, would see the stipend paid to jurors moved from $2,000 to $6,000 per day, and a stipend of $2,000 paid daily to people who participate in the jury selection process.

A further amendment to the Act would see judges being able to dismiss a jury where jury tampering is detected. According to Chuck, this “reflects a significant development in our jurisprudence as we are seeking to introduce a new legislative power for judges”.

The House should begin the debate on these amendments next Tuesday and, as noted by Chuck, “at the end of the debates and the hopeful eventual passage of the Bill, we will be asking the House to set up a joint select committee to examine other matters related to the Jury Act, but in particular to examine and receive recommendations from all stakeholders in the justice sector and the wider public, whether jury trials should continue to be a feature of our court system, and what cases are most appropriate for a jury trial or bench trials, or if we should consider abolishing jury trials altogether and opt for bench trials only”.

Chuck pointed out that the matter of jury trials vs bench trials has been in the public domain for quite some time, with Chief Justice Bryan Sykes publicly declaring and encouraging defence lawyers to make greater use of bench trials as one solution towards reducing the case backlog in the criminal courts.

“Recognising that jury trials have been a hallmark of our justice system, this is a matter that Parliament should decide on, taking into account the suggestions and recommendations from all stakeholders within the justice system, and the wider public,” said Chuck.

He told the House that following that process, the House will be in a better position to make a final and well-informed decision.

Chuck reminded the House that the chief justice recently highlighted that more than 3,000 criminal matters are awaiting trial in the Supreme and Circuit courts. He stressed that delays could not be attributable to a shortage of courtroom space, in particular in the Supreme Court. He also stated that a shortage of judges could not be blamed as their numbers have been increased over the past 10 years at both the Supreme Court and parish court levels.

“We were also successful in doubling the number of prosecutors as we continue to provide the necessary resources towards, among other things, reducing the backlog and ensuring a first-class justice system that is comparable to international standards…,” Chuck said.

On the matter of judges being empowered to dismiss a jury, Chuck stated that “in an instance where there is evidence of jury tampering or a real and present danger that jury tampering would take place and the interest of justice demands it, a judge may discharge the jury and order that the trial be conducted without a jury”.

He pointed out that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in a much-publicised case in evaluating Jamaica’s legal landscape, “indicated that this is a power that is absent in our jurisdiction, but present in England and Wales.

“The absence of this power places judges in a precarious position. This had to be remedied,” said the minister.

He shared that the Government undertook a comprehensive review of other jurisdictions to determine how the court should proceed, in the event that there is evidence of jury tampering.

“These proposals were circulated and ventilated with several stakeholders to ensure a robust consultative process before adopting this significant amendment. Invariably, this lengthened the time the Bill took to get before the House. We anticipate that at the next sitting of this House we will begin and hopefully conclude the debate on this important Bill,” he said.

In 2024 the UK Privy Council overturned the murder conviction of dancehall artiste Vybz Kartel, citing jury tampering.

SYKES… has been encouraging defence lawyers to make greater use of bench trials as one solution towards reducing the case backlog in the criminal courts