Do I still have a criminal record?
Dear Mrs Macaulay,
I had a case that was dismissed on December 5, 2013 because the complainant refused to take it any further. That was my first trial date, but my case wasn’t tried because my lawyer sent in an application for the case to be thrown out. Do I still have a criminal record and are my fingerprints still in the system if I am acquitted on the first court appearance?
Let me first deal with a serious misconception which you clearly have. You were not acquitted. Your case was dismissed for want of prosecution, that is to say, that since the complainant refused to proceed with the case against you, the prosecution could not proceed without the evidence of the complainant. In such circumstances, either the prosecution or the defence would apply for the case to be dismissed for want of prosecution. This is not an acquittal.
When your case was dismissed last December for want of prosecution, note that in such circumstances, even though it happened on the first trial date, if the prosecution finds at some future time that they can proceed with the prosecution, they can do so.
It seems that no enquiry of or application was made to the judge about the destruction of your fingerprints when the order of the dismissal of the case against you for want of prosecution was made. Had this been done you would have been in no doubt about its destruction. It should be done in the normal course of events, but it is always better to be prudent and ask the trial judge about it rather than leave it in the air. This is where you are now.
Since you do not know what has happened to your fingerprints, I would advise you to go to the Police Records Office and check whether your fingerprints are in fact still in the records. If they are, you may need to apply to that office for them to be destroyed on the basis of the dismissal of the case against you. You will need to take to them a certified copy of the court order which you should get from the court’s office as you must prove the fact of the dismissal. If you have any difficulty in ensuring the destruction, you may have to apply to the court for an order that they be destroyed.
You asked whether you will still have a criminal record. You do not and did not have a ‘criminal record’, as you had not been convicted of the offence. Your fingerprints were on record as you were charged with a criminal offence, serious enough for the taking of your fingerprints to be ordered, and you were on remand until the trial was resolved. The resolution was neither a finding of guilt nor one of acquittal, because there was no trial. There was a termination of the proceedings because the prosecution could not proceed to trial and the matter was dismissed. So only your fingerprints would be on record and these you have to ensure that they are destroyed. I have already suggested how you can ensure that this is done.
Good luck.
Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide personal responses.
DISCLAIMER:
The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.
