Attorney-at-Law Bert Samuels - file photo
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Bert Samuels
Attorney-at-Law Bert Samuels has categorised proposals made by Justice Minister Delroy Chuck to punish traffic offenders as a possible emotional response to the chronic problem of Road Traffic Act breaches.
On Thursday, Mr. Chuck announced that at the end of the traffic ticket amnesty on January 13, the government will be cracking down hard on motorists who continue to flout the road code.
Mr. Chuck pointed out that there are 100,000 outstanding warrants for traffic violators.
He has asked for additional judges and more night courts to deal with these cases, and has suggested that penalties will be harsh after conviction.
But Mr. Samuels has warned that the minister should not seek to influence the minds of judges in their conduct of cases before them.
He asserts that any sentence to be imposed by judges should be done based on the particular facts before them.
"We would not expect the Minister of Justice to speak about what type of sentence a judge is prepared to give anyone who is convicted of traffic offences in Jamaica. It need not be imprisonment, so we're hoping that that's not signal to the judiciary to tell them what to do; I'm very weary of anyone from the legislature or the executive telling the judiciary what to do," said Mr. Samuels.
He has also chided Mr. Chuck's proposal to hold persons with outstanding traffic tickets in cells at the Jamaica Defence Force headquarters at Up Park Camp until they are taken to court.
Mr. Samuels argued that this type of penalty is not a priority at this time and questioned what then would happen to persons charged with more serious offences, such as gun crimes.
According to the attorney, the approach might be a heavy-handed one, an overreaction that is meant to encourage persons to "fall in line and take advantage of the amnesty." But he urged the Justice Minister to be more careful in his pronouncements.
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