Fast-track Court ‘frees’ Mom Of 3

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A woman from Suriname, who spent more time awaiting trial than her eventual sentence became the first person to benefit from the Judiciary’s fast-track court initiative.

High Court Judge Gillian Lucky, who has been leading the organisation’s drive to reduce the backlog of cases plaguing the criminal justice system, sentenced 31-year-old Alicia Ramnath to time served during a hearing at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spain on Tuesday.

Ramnath was one of over 100 accused persons awaiting trial who volunteered to be part of the project, in which their cases are expedited if they elect to plead guilty or have a maximum sentence indication.

Her case was flagged by Lucky for immediate attention, as she had spent five years and seven months on remand when the maximum sentence for the fraud offence she committed was five years.

Lucky said her actual sentence would have been two years as she was entitled to a one-third discount for her guilty plea, as well as discounts for mitigating factors.

Before disposing of the case, Luck questioned Ramnath over what drove her to a commit the offence.

Ramnath, a mother of three, claimed she took the decision because her first husband left her in substantial debt after he died. She also admitted that she had spent 20 months in prison for another fraud offence which she committed before she remarried. However, Ramnath assured Lucky that she had resolved to turn her life around with the support of her family.

Stating that she had been given an opportunity to change, Lucky said Ramnath needed to support her children.

“Young women are being used as criminal pawns. There is no excuse for committing a criminal act,” Lucky said.

Ramnath, who was granted bail pending the sentencing, was taken back into custody by officers of the Immigration Division immediately after the hearing.

An immigration officer, who was present in court, explained that she had to undergo a special inquiry to determine her immigration status and whether she had breached any immigration laws.

Lucky is still at the case management stage in the cases of the other accused persons who will take advantage of the new facility. Some of these accused are awaiting trial for murder, robbery, rape and other serious offences.

At preliminary hearings last month, Lucky requested the status of the process in each case and asked prosecutors from the DPP’s Office to expedite the filing of the indictments where possible.

The filing of indictments in the High Court is a major cause of delay in the criminal justice system, as the procedure is required to have the case listed for trial before a judge and jury. The inefficiency usually stems from delays in the transferring of evidence from accused persons’ preliminary inquiries to the DPP’s Office, which is required to file the indictments.

Lucky has also facilitated the accused persons in retaining attorneys through the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority.

The cases will come up for another status hearing in October.

The project has been met with criticism from defence attorneys, who questioned whether the T&T Prison Service and the Judiciary had improperly solicited their clients’ participation. The Judiciary and Prison Commissioner Gerard Wilson have denied any wrongdoing, as they pointed out that the process is completely voluntary and participants are allowed to change their minds at any time before sentencing.

In addition to the project, the Judiciary has launched another for criminal trials during its annual vacation period between this month and mid-September.

That project will focus on cases of accused persons who do not wish to plead guilty and have been waiting for protracted periods for their trials.
 
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