The backlog of criminal cases within the Supreme Court of Judicature has been reduced by 212 cases after they were disposed of by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Chambers in 2019.
The Director of Public Prosecutions Chambers
In its annual report, the DPP said of the 212 cases, 178 received attention in High Courts across the country while 34 matters were nolle prosequi (not prosecuted) by the DPP. Of the 178 cases, 110 were presented at the Demerara Assizes, 25 at the Berbice Assizes and 43 at the Essequibo Assizes.
There were 86 cases for murder, 84 sexual offences, two cases for the offence of manslaughter, five cases of attempt to commit murder and one case for accessory after the fact to murder. These cases resulted in 36 convictions, 56 guilty pleas, 32 formal verdicts of not guilty, 28 not guilty verdicts by jury, five hung juries, four aborted trials and 51 cases were nolle prosequi, 16 of which were done in Court.
During 2019, the DPP also appeared in 30 matters in the Court of Appeal. The State was represented by Assistant DPP Dionne McCammon, Assistant DPP Teshana Lake, Assistant DPP Diana O’Brien, Assistant DPP Natasha Backer, Senior State Counsel Mercedes Glasford, State Counsel Narissa Leander and State Counsel Orinthia Schmidt in those matters.
Of these 30 appeals, 12 were for sexual offences, three for the offence of manslaughter, eight for murder appeals, two for wounding with intent, another two for possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and one each for felonious wounding, causing death by dangerous driving and uttering a forged document.
The Court of Appeal dismissed and denied eight of these applications to appeal against conviction and sentence; while six other appellants’ applications were allowed in part, that is, the appeals against conviction were dismissed but the appeals against sentence were allowed. The sentences were varied which included commutation of two death sentences to life imprisonment.
In addition, the Court of Appeal reserved one decision while one other application was withdrawn. There were eight applications for extension of time to file and serve notices of appeal of which six were granted and two were denied. Five appellants made applications for bail pending their appeal, three of these were denied while one application was granted and one other application was withdrawn. The Court of Appeal also allowed an appeal by the State against an acquittal.
During this year, the Demerara Full Court dealt with 15 matters for the offences of break and enter and larceny, possession of firearm without license, murder, possession of cannabis, possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking, assault causing actual bodily harm and rape of a girl under 16 years. Four applications were withdrawn, one application was struck out after the Full Court ruled it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter, five appellants were denied their applications while five others were granted their applications to appeal.
Meanwhile, the Berbice Full Court heard an application to appeal against sentence for the offence of possession of narcotics for the purpose of trafficking. The appellant did not attend court and the application was dismissed. The Berbice Civil Court also heard an application to quash a committal for the offence of murder and the application was granted.
In 2019, the DPP appeared at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in an application for leave to appeal against a decision of the Court of Appeal, where the conviction and sentence for the offence of manslaughter was dismissed. The CCJ dismissed the application. The Chambers are also engaged in another case before the Trinidad-based regional court, where the applicant applied for leave to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal to dismiss an appeal against conviction and sentence for the offence of rape of a child under 16 years. The CCJ has denied the application for leave to appeal against the conviction but has granted leave to hear the appeal against sentence in January 2020.
During 2019, the DPP’s office received 318 depositions, of which 174 indictments were proffered, 16 were returned to Magistrates’ Courts for reopening of cases, 13 matters were discontinued, two were nolle prosequi while 113 matters are receiving attention. The Chambers also gave legal advice in 3725 files received from the Guyana Police Force and other law enforcement agencies.
The last criminal session of 2019 in Demerara came to an end on December 20, when the goal delivery was done by Justice Sandil Kissoon. The Demerara October 2019 Criminal Assizes was presided over by Justice Kissoon along with Justices Jo-Ann Barlow and Simone Morris-Ramlall.
During this session, 49 of 322 cases were disposed of with 36 having received attention in the Demerara High Court while 12 were nolle prosequi by the DPP via letter.
Of the 36 matters that were presented, 20 were for the offence of murder while 16 others were for sexual offences. These resulted in 13 guilty pleas, nine guilty verdicts by jury, three not guilty verdicts, six formal verdicts of not guilty, two hung juries and three aborted trials.
The January 2020 Criminal Assizes in Demerara will open on January 14, 2020, with a total of 318 cases listed to be heard. Justices Barlow, Kissoon and Brassington Reynolds have been rostered to sit during this session.
Meanwhile, the Berbice Criminal Assizes which opened on October 15, 2019, is ongoing until February 3, 2020. State Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial presented six matters thus far before Justice Brassington Reynolds during this assizes. The February 2020 Berbice Criminal Assizes will commence on February 4.
Additionally, the October 2019 Essequibo Criminal Assizes also remains in progress. During this session thus far, State Counsel Lisa Cave has presented seven matters before Justice Gino Persaud. The Essequibo February 2020 Criminal Assizes will commence on February 18.
