More Jamaicans who are dissatisfied with the outcomes of their cases at the parish court level are opting to appeal, but some senior lawyers are wary of matters being dragged through to the high court when some counsel, apparently driven by earning more money, are well aware that their clients’ cases do not stand a chance of being successful.

“It seems to me that some attorneys take matters to appeal when there is no merit, and not just appeal, but by way of judicial review. I deprecate that kind of conduct because it gives the profession a bad name and it gives the clients a false sense of expectation,” defence counsel Peter Champagnie, QC, argued, pointing out that litigation does not resolve all issues in certain cases.

The Jamaica Observer had sought Champagnie’s views against the background of the 85.8 per cent jump in new appeals coming from the parish courts in 2021. The increase was noted in the Court of Appeal’s annual report for the period, which was laid in Parliament last week.

The report said the parish court appeals made up 26.8 per cent of the overall 31 per cent increase in new cases filed over 2020. Two hundred and ninety or 70 more new appeals were filed during 2021, with 78 of them from the parish courts, compared to 42 in 2020. The majority of the total cases filed — 166 — were civil matters, 113 were criminal, and 11 miscellaneous.

Champagnie said that it is difficult to attach a cost to taking a matter to appeal as cases are dependent on several factors, including affordability and the level of representation. Furthermore, he noted, there is no fee schedule at the defence bar.

However, a seasoned attorney told the Observer on Monday that the appeal process can cost millions of dollars because of the volume of work involved in preparing and arguing the appeal, as well as the complexity of the matter.

Champagnie said another contributing factor could be the faster rate at which the Court of Appeal has been disposing of cases.

“There has been a dramatic increase, and I think the Court of Appeal and the chief justice should be credited for that. Before then, it was not unheard of to be waiting for an inordinate length of time to get appeals to be heard, and persons, perhaps, would be inclined to take the view that it is pointless to appeal because the time it takes for your matters to be heard it [becomes] really redundant,” he said.

The appeal court, in its report, had said 61 per cent of the cases before it in 2021 were disposed of within six months, 87.5 per cent of them within a week, and 96.13 per cent within three months of hearing.

Champagnie also noted the impact of the advancement of legislation on the judicial process.

“Gone are the days when areas of law were relatively simple. With the infusion of new legislation, new practice direction, [and] a whole host of things, the parish judges have to contend with canvassing a number of issues in their verdicts and sometimes they may miss that [particular issue] and, as a result, there is the fertile ground for appeal,” he said.

He pointed to the complexities of the new sentencing guidelines, noting that sometimes certain factors are overlooked in the parish court.

Champagnie pointed out, too, that Jamaicans are also now much more aware of their legal rights and are willing to appeal if they disagree with an outcome.

“The world has become so much smaller and persons are now more aware of their rights and to that extent they aren’t prepared to just engage the justice system at a first level, [and] persons are now more aware of the gravity of having a conviction recorded against them, in terms of the implications — whether to travel overseas or employment here or some other pursuit. So whenever there is a conviction, it is important to persons,” he stated.

Additionally, he said, Jamaicans now have more attorneys to choose from, which means more options, including fees.

“So the means to travel to the Court of Appeal is there, and it may not be as expensive as it once was or was once thought to be,” said Champagnie.

Another senior counsel, Bert Samuels, also stressed that lawyers have a duty to properly inform their clients.

“There is a school of thought that a lawyer should be law-driven and not client-driven. If you cause your clients’ wishes to prevail over good sense and the law, then you’re not serving them well in the long run because the cost to the losing party in the long run can be millions. A lot of litigants don’t know that, they have not been given full advice that if you lose in the Court of Appeal the cost can be larger than what you’re fighting for,” he said.

Samuels also surmised that the rise in appeals could possibly be attributed to people better understanding their rights, but pointed out, too, that with delays plaguing the parish courts, people are frustrated with the months-long wait just for hearings, and when the outcomes are unfavourable, that is an impetus for them to mount a challenge.

At the same time, the post-pandemic period may be contributing to a revival of cases, he added.

“Maybe people who wanted to appeal in 2020 were out of a job and could not afford to do an appeal. People can’t file legal fees when they’re trying to survive,” he said.

President of the Jamaican Bar Association Alexander Williams emphasised that attorneys have a duty to instruct their clients on the proper course of action in each case.

“To that extent, I am concerned, [but] these matters have a way of weeding themselves out. Yes, they are a clog on a system and we need to work against it, but they do eventually work themselves out of the system,” he stated.

Williams said there has been a general increase in cases at the parish court level, which could also be reflected in more cases being elevated to the Court of Appeal. He reminded that when the jurisdiction of the parish court was increased in 2016 under new legal framework, this also led to an increase in the number of cases handled by those courts.