With thousands of cases being mentioned at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court annually, there are people from all walks of life with varying personalities standing before a judge in any given year. In such an unpredictable space, people often say or do something that catches even the most seasoned court reporter off guard.

The year 2022 was no different. Here are some of those memorable moments, compiled by OBSERVER ONLINE, below.

1. Man sentenced for attempting to rob policewoman, calls judge sexy

After a senior parish judge sentenced a man to prison for attempting to rob a police officer in downtown Kingston, the last thing the court expected to hear from the convict as he was being led into the holding cell was “judge yuh sexy enuh…no disrespect.”

Visibly thrown off by the comment, the judge gracefully said, “Yes, well it’s not polite to tell a judge that she is sexy.”

Though he pleaded guilty to the charge, the man said he did not know the woman he had pointed his knife at was a police officer. With his animated manner of speaking, the man was able to lighten the mood in the court room after over 20 cases were heard.

2. Attorneys pay DRMA fine for elderly woman who fainted in court

Beverley Isaacs, an elderly street sweeper from Denham Town, Kingston, pleaded guilty to breaching the Disaster Risk Management Act (DRMA) and indecent exposure on February 15 – she was ultimately admonished and discharged for the indecent exposure offence. Barely able to stand, the frail woman was permitted to sit in the prisoner’s dock during the proceeding. However, after a $5,000 fine was handed down, Isaacs fainted and the court staff had to quickly rush to her aid. In a show of empathy towards the woman, three attorneys-at-law came together to pay the fine for the woman.

3. ‘Birthday girl’ cries in court as she’s sent to jail

The last place anyone would want to spend their birthday is locked up in a jail cell. But this is exactly what happened to Raphaleta Haughton, after she was remanded on May 3, when she failed to present half of the remaining balance in restitution owed to the complainant. Haughton, who was charged with unlawful wounding, was also remanded on allegations that she had been harassing the complainant since they last appeared in court. Senior Parish Judge Lori-Ann Montague-Cole said she was making an example out of her. This decision was met with tears, which did nothing to sway the judge.

4. Attorney lashes out at bearer who pretended to be lawyer

Those who are called to the Bar take that honour seriously. Therefore it was no surprise that when a bearer posed as an attorney-at-law and syphoned $300,000 from a woman looking to acquire a land title, the lawyers present in the courtroom when this particular case was mentioned did not take this offence lightly.

One particular attorney publicly expressed her outrage at Christopher Fielding, who had pleaded guilty to the charge of obtaining money by false pretense, on September 20.

The attorney-at-law, Ayesha Robb-Cunningham said she believed it to be very unfortunate that people are charading as lawyers for financial gain.

5. Father punches daughter after empty juice box found in kitchen sink

No one likes to hear of family disputes, especially when it involves a father punching a daughter in her face over something trivial. The 21-year-old daughter had hauled her father, Wayne Smith, to court after the assault after he punched her because she left an empty juice box in the kitchen sink. Smith pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Tuesday May 24, while blaming his daughter’s ‘misbehaviour’ for the reason he had punched her in the face.

6. NCU lecturer held in Florida on 16 charges including sexual assault

When a man waived his rights on Tuesday May 24, to be extradited to the United States on the grounds of sexual assault, no one expected it to be Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Lecturer Russell McLean. He was held on 16 charges, including burglary and kidnapping. McLean has been a lecturer at the Mandeville-based NCU for 18-and-a-half years. He was based in the College of Humanities, Behavioural and Social Sciences at the private Seventh-Day Adventist-run university.