The Right to Speedy Trial: a Comparative Analysis of the Administration of Criminal Justice in Jamaica, England and the United States of America
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THE RIGHT TO SPEEDY TRIAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN JAMAICA, ENGLAND AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. BY DIANA THERESA HARRISON OF UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Dated: May, 1993 BIBL LONDON UNIV ProQuest Number: 10045854 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest. ProQuest 10045854 Published by ProQuest LLC(2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 IN MEMORY OF MY SISTER, SONIA MAY LEWIS MY GRANDMOTHER, MADELINE THERESA HARRISON AND MY GRANDFATHER, ANTELMO A. HARRISON 11 ABSTRACT The criminal justice system in Jamaica has sadly lagged in terms of reform measures. There is an urgent need to assess and evaluate the present administration of justice and explore new reforms so as to bring the administration of the criminal justice system and legal rules and procedure in line with modern methods. The efficiency of our criminal justice system may be assessed and evaluated in terms of a principle dating back to Magna Carta: "To no one will we sell, to no one will we delay rights or justice." This principle, now commonly referred to as the "right to speedy trial" or "trial within a reasonable time", is affirmed by the European Convention of Human Rights in articles 5(3) and 6(1). It is also acknowledged in the Jamaica Constitution, section 20 (1) and (11). Indeed, it is a major provision in most legal systems of the western world. The focus of this thesis is, therefore, on this principle as it is applied in the common law legal system. Particular emphasis is on the Jamaica criminal justice system, especially at the superior court level where inordinate delays and court congestion are major problems facing the criminal courts. In fact, the Gun Court Act of 1974 was passed in Jamaica as a method of diverting firearm related offences from the mainstream of the criminal justice system so as to effectuate speedy trials of such offences. The Act has, however, failed to achieve this purpose. This study will be the first empirical investigation of the scale and scope of the problem and of the factors causing the congestion of our criminal justice system in Jamaica. The questionnaire was conducted in 1989 when the bulk of this research was done. There has been no significant procedural or structural changes in the criminal justice system since that date. iii This study will be conducted in a comparative framework so as to draw upon the speedy trial reforms of England and the United States of America in particular. The reform approaches which will be examined include pre-trial procedures, such as preliminary inquiry, plea bargaining and disclosure and the management and organization of the court, personnel and the processing of criminal cases. This will be done with a view to ascertaining in what respect, if any, reforms in these more advanced jurisdictions can be successfully implemented in Jamaica, taking into consideration the country's limited resources. IV ACKNOWLEDGEMENT There are institutions and persons to whom I owe a debt of gratitude for their support and assistance during the period of this study. My gratitude goes to the staff of the Gun Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the Statistical Institute of Jamaica and Roy Roberts at the Department of Corrections, Kingston Jamaica, West Indies, for allowing me access to statistical data on Jamaica; also to the former Chief Justice of Jamaica, The Honourable Kenneth Smith O.J., for allowing me to tap into his extensive knowledge of the Jamaica criminal justice system. It would be remiss of me if I did not acknowledge the Ministries of Finance, Public Service and Justice, Jamaica, West Indies, for the financial assistance and the grant of leave of absence from my work during the period March 1988 to March 1990, which afforded me some time to devote to the bulk of the research for this thesis. I wish to express my appreciation to the librarians at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London, the British Museum Library, the Record Office, London, the Law Library, University of Manitoba, Canada, the Law Library, Columbia University, New York and the University of the West Indies Library, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Finally, my special thanks to Professor I. H. Dennis for his helpful comments and his guiding support which, for the past years, were a rigid stay against discouragement and without whose academic and moral support, this thesis would not have been completed. V TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract 111-IV Acknowledgement V Table of contents vi-vii List of Tables viii Selected Table of Abbreviation ix-xi Selected table of Cases xii-xiv Chapter I Introduction: The Right to Speedy Trial 1-41 and the Problems of Delay II The Jamaica Criminal Justice System: 42-12 0 Problems of Delay III The English Criminal Justice System: 121-203 Reform Measures IV The United States of America Criminal Justice 204-302 System: Reform Measures V Conclusions and Recommendations for Speedy 303-355 Trial Reforms In Jamaica VI Appendices Page A: Hierarchy of Courts: Jamaica 120 B: A Simple Representation Of The Court System: 201 England C: Hierarchy of the Criminal Courts: England 202 D: A Simple Representation of the Criminal 302 Court System: United States of America E : A Proposed Guide To Police Statement Taking 348- 350 F : Extracts From Memorandum issued by the Director of 351- Public Prosecutions (Ian X Forte, Q.C now 352 Appellate Judge) July 29, 1982 G : Proposed Disclosure Rules 353- 355 A: A Selected Bibliography 356- 364 Vll TABLES Page I. Disposition of Gun Court Cases: Jamaica 62 II. Disposition of Court of Appeal Cases: Jamaica 64 III. List of Cases Disposed of for the Island 97 of Jamaica 1963/73 IV. List of Cases Disposed of for the Island of 98 Jamaica 1974/91 V. Clarendon: Waiting Times 99 VI. Kingston and St. Andrew: Waiting Times 100 VII. St. Catherine: Waiting Times 101 VIII. Crown Court: Appeals 124 IX. Time Limits: Levels of Compliance during 234 the phase-in period (U.S.A.) X. Guilty Pleas for the Parish of Kingston and 333 St. Andrew XI. Home Circuit Court: Acquittal Rate 335 Vlll SELECTED TABLE OF ABBREVIATION American Bar Asocial Journal ALL E.R. ALL England Report Am. Grim. L. Rev. American Criminal Law Review Anglo - Am. L. R. Anglo - American Law Review A . L . J . Australian Law Journal Brit. Y.B. Int. Law British Year Book of International Law C.C.C. Canadian Criminal Cases C . L . J . Cambridge Law Journal Calif. L. Rev. California Law Review Car. Charles Chic. B. Rec. Chicago Bar Record Cmnd. Command Paper Colum. L. Rev. Columbia Law Review Cornell L. Rev. Cornell Law Review Cowp. Cowper's King's Bench Cr. App. R. Criminal App. Report Crim. L. Bull. Criminal Law Bulletin Crim. L. R. Criminal Law Review Drake L. Rev. Drake Law Review E. H. R. R. European Human Rights Report Eur. Comm, on Human European Commission on Human Rights Rights IX F. 2d Federal Reporter, second series H. M. S . 0. Her Majesty's Stationary Office Harv. L. Rev. Harvard Law Review Hast. L. J. Hastings Law Journal J . Am. Jud. Soc. Journal of America, Judicature Society J. Crim. L. and Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Criminology J. Legal Studies Journal of Legal Studies Judge Advo. J. The Judge Advocate Journal Judge's J. Judge's Journal Justice System J. Justice System Journal L. ed. Lawyer's Edition, Supreme Court Report Leg. Rep. Legal Reporter M Miscellaneous M & W Meeson and Welsby Report Mercer L. Rev. Mercer Law Review N. E. 2d North Eastern Reporter, second series N. J. New Jersey Supreme Court Report N . L. J. New Law Journal N.Y.U.L. Rev. New York University Law Review Ont. L.R. C. Report Ontario Law Reform Commission Report Ont. L. Rep. Ontario Law Report Ont. Sup. Ct. Ontario Supreme Court Q.B. Queen's Bench Reports S. I. Statutory Instrument San Diego L. Rev. San Diego Law Review So. Calif. L. Rev. Southern California Law Review U.C.L.A. Law Rev. University of California at Los Angeles Law Review U.C.L.R. University of Chicago Law Review U.S.C.A. United States Code Annotated U. Tor. Fac. L.R University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review Viet. Victoria W.l.R. West Indian Reports W.L.R. Weekly Law Reports Y.B. Eur. Conv. on Year Book of the European Convention Human Rights on Human Rights XI SELECTED TABLE OF CASES Pages Asher Sivan et al 336 Attorney General v. Briant 16 0 Barker v Wingo 17, 27, 29, 31, 211, 212, 213, 214, 217 Barton v The Queen 82 Bell V Director of Public Prosecutions 14, 31, 66, (Jamaica) and Another 6 8 Bissoon V Mungroo v. The Queen 26 Brady v Maryland 261, 269 Branch v United States 214 Campbell v Hall 12 Connelly v Director of Public Prosecutions 14, 159 D.P.P. (Jamaica) v.Feurtado 3 0 Dallison v Caffery 158 Dillingham v United States 26 Dean Robert Warth 3 34 Falkowski v Mayo 11 Grant v D.P.P.