(CNS): Recent changes to the Criminal Procedure Code will, among a number of things, remove the right of people accused of serious crimes to seek a preliminary inquiry (PI) before their case is committed to the Grand Court. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly earlier this month, Attorney General Sam Bulgin said the move would speed up the course of justice and that it had support from the profession. However, one local attorney thinks differently and has noted that the decision has been made without a proper survey of how many cases are thrown out after a PI. Peter Polack has written to the governor pointing out that over a five year period some 15 cases of gun related crimes never made the grand court as a PI revealed that there was not enough evidence against the accused.
Polack is particularly concerned as a recent FOI request he made to the Legal Department requesting details of preliminary inquiries over a three year period was refused on the grounds that it would constitute “an unreasonable diversion of resources” because the officer would have to search manually for the information.
It is apparent, therefore, Polack told CNS, that the department has never completed a proper review of the outcome of preliminary enquiries relating to category A offences to ascertain whether their removal would be a good of bad thing.
Long form and short form PIs were carried out in the Summary Court and would see the prosecution place its evidence before the magistrate by calling witnesses to the court. The idea was that the magistrate would then make a decision to commit the case to Grand Court or to throw the case out. Polack says he is concerned now that more innocent people may be forced to face long and difficult trials.
Polack added that, in his own experience, here in Cayman there are very few long form preliminary inquiries, which tend to clog the system, and most take a short form, so, he said, their removal will do little to speed up the administration of justice.
The new amendment to the criminal procedure code will replace the PI with a ‘sufficiency trial’ in the Grand Court, where the evidence will be submitted in written form. Speaking in the LA earlier this month, the AG said that innocent people would still have a chance to be heard, but Pollack argues that there are real concerns about the preliminary inquiry’s removal.
“The inherent danger is that anyone charged with this type of offence (Category A) has no remedy where there is no cogent or slim evidence and are forced into long and damaging trials,” Pollack said.
Polack also noted that the rejection of fifteen firearms cases alone should be enough to sound the warning that removing the PI could see people committed to Grand Court trial on little evidence. The attorney points out that with the implementation of modern human rights provisions for the Cayman Islands next year, this amendment goes against the spirit and direction of those rights.
“As the chief justice recently stated, legislative reform cannot be the only response to crime and that a raft of legislative reforms was being used to respond to the crime crisis,” Polack said in a letter to the governor, as he urged the UK government to consider the importance of the preservation of the preliminary inquiry for the local justice system.
The amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code will see a number of other changes, including the downgrading of some offences from Category B to C, allows the crown to join summary offences with grand court offences and abolishes the rule prohibiting murder to be charged with any other indictment.
