BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Director of Public Prosecution, (DPP) Paulina Hendrickson in an address during Monday’s opening of the new law year called for the implementation of a witness protection program.
Hendrickson in a passionate appeal before Chief Justice Hugh Rawlins of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and other dignitaries and attorneys who had assembled in the High Court to hear the address to the sub region by Chief Justice Rawlins, told a pack court that the Federation is confronted by a major challenge, explaining that citizens are becoming increasingly fearful in providing information to the police in criminal investigations.
“Witnesses are reluctant because of fear, especially in homicide cases,” she said. “During the last assizes we had the unfortunate situation of where we had two trials that had to be aborted because two witnesses while on the stand recanted their stories.”
“My lord, there are those willing to give evidence in serious matters but they are concerned for their safety and would need protection.
“The time has long passed for witness protection program. We cannot afford not to have a witness protection program in place to protect the long term stability and viability of our justice program and society,” she said.
The DPP said that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has a unique situation where it has two circuits of the supreme court and only one prosecution team.
She said that the office of the DPP managed to cover all prosecution of the high court in both St. Kitts and Nevis, despite the human and material resource constraints all cases were disposed of during the law term.
“The first time during my tenure as DPP and to the best of my knowledge we had 15 guilty please in one assizes in May 2010. This my lord contributed greatly to the number of cases disposed of, during the year. There were a total of 83 cases listed for trial before the St. Kitts high court, of this we managed to dispose of 64 cases.
“And for the Nevis circuit, there were six cases for the year and four was disposed of,” she said.
Hendrickson said that 19 cases were traversed to the September assizes while 30 new cases have been added.
The new law year presents some challenges and hopefully some new opportunities for the office of the Director of Public Prosecution according to Hendrickson, but the revised edition of the laws of the federation up to 2002 has made their task of finding the relevant laws much easier.
“It is our hope to have the laws updated continually reflecting the law as it is currently, it is hoped that all available technology will be employed so that our laws will soon be available online,” she said.
Hendrickson also said that delays in the processing of cases are still a pronounced feature as they often hear of complaints from some victims about the length of time it tales for their matters to be heard leading to a few who express their reluctance or refusal to testify in their own matters.
“Witnesses are also affected because they have to postpone their personal matters to attend court while defendants are left to wonder of their fate having to wait 2-3 years from time of arrest until trial,” she said.
The New law Term was officially opened yesterday, Monday, September 13, at the Sir Lee L. Moore Judicial Complex in Basseterre, the location from which Nevisian born, Chief Justice Hugh Rawlins, in a video simulcast addressed the legal fraternity who had assembled in the various High Courts throughout the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
The occasion was marked with the traditional church service held at the Wesley Methodist Church on Seaton Street at 8 a.m. then several lawyers and officers of the court in a procession made their way to the high court for the special sitting ceremony.
