A physical assault case involving transgender woman Ronnel Trotman, commonly known as “Petronella”, and Jamal Johnson was on Wednesday morning dismissed by city Magistrate Dylon Bess.
The case was highlighted in the media after Trotman was barred from the courtroom and asked to dress as his birth sex to attend court.
Ronnel Trotman, known as Petronella
In court on Thursday, the Magistrate requested that his courtroom to be cleared as the Virtual Complainant (VC), Trotman, was making his entrance. The VC was barred again as he did not comply with the rules of the court.
Speaking to members of the media, Trotman stated that he was upset by the Magistrate’s decision, relating that he was not allowed inside the court for a public hearing.
This move by the Magistrate was deemed unconstitutional by Attorney-at-Law Arif Bulkan, who represented the interest of Trotman.
The Attorney recently led an appeal case at the Court of Appeal, brought by a transgender woman associated with several Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights groups in Guyana, seeking clarification on a ruling made by then acting Chief Justice Ian Chang in 2013, which declared that cross-dressing was legal unless it was done for an “improper purpose”, the latter phrase being ambiguous.
The case was dismissed by the Court of Appeal, which found that it could not elucidate what the term meant, since Parliament had failed to define same.
Subsequent to the dismissal, Bulkan had stated that the decision of the Court of Appeal allows for case-by-case interpretation from Magistrates, with regard to what constitutes an “improper purpose”.
The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) and Guyana Trans United (GTU) are expected take their cross-dressing case to the Caribbean Court of Justice.
