Whenever people discover I was a prosecutor, in Jamaica , they tend to ask the same questions: Did you ever prosecute murderers? Have you ever been threatened by a criminal? Weren't you afraid? Did you ever send someone you thought was innocent to jail? Has any criminal ever confessed to you? Have you ever encountered someone you prosecuted out of court? Would you prosecute someone you know? 1. Did you ever prosecute murderers? Yes . Prosecuting murderers is commonplace for Jamaican prosecutors. Within a year (or less) of joining the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions Department, a prosecutor would have prosecuted a few murders. This is primarily because of the high murder rate, an inadequate number of judges, courtrooms and prosecutors in relation to Jamaica's escalating crime rates. The government has, through the years, added a few judges, prosecutors and courtrooms, but the numbers remain inadequate to deal with Jamaica's ever inc...
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There was a time in my life when I did not have to concern myself with anything GLC related. Then I left government service to be in-house counsel and that changed. Months after I resigned from my that job I forgot to pay my Practising Certificate fees and I had to pay the penalty. I am generally an organised person so I was … No strike that I still AM , quite pissed at myself for not realizing and having to pay double when I wasn’t even practising law. [I only keep current … just in case I need to do something in the capacity of a Lawyer.] I could not believe I missed that! My only revenge was to organise my business so it would never happen again. The first thing I did was go through all the legislation related to the profession and created reminders on my computer. Then I created a folder on my computer that I labelled “General Legal Council”. In that folder I created sub-folders for: 1. GLC - Ann...
This article is not intended for attorneys who practice law in first world countries or large firms equipped with case management software. Instead, I write from the perspective of a practitioner in a third world/ developing country where subscriptions to case management software are simply unaffordable and most of my colleagues shy away from using the computer. For attorneys in my country, Jamaica, and other Caribbean territories to obtain a good case management software they would have to pass on the cost to clients who already cannot afford, or would rather not pay, legal fees. With a little computer knowledge and organisation skills, attorneys can save pockets of time that add up over time. I began my legal career as a prosecutor. There was no computer on my desk, cases were simply managed by the maintenance of a good old diary which was manually updated from the court sheet daily. I owned my a computer but relied heavily on pens a...
Not all legal practitioners can afford to subscribe to electronic legal research services like Lexis-Nexis. When I started practicing, the court I was assigned to didn’t even have an up-to-date set of the Laws of Jamaica. Practitioners who cannot afford subscription fees must rely on the good old Law Library, judgments published online and their stash of photocopied cases acquired over the years. In Jamaica, Kingston is the home to the only two Law Libraries in the entire island. The attorneys in St. James have been resourceful enough to create a small library but it is not extensive. Maintaining an organized digital library can help to make legal research and case preparation a breeze but conducting legal research electronically is often more challenging for senior attorneys and young attorneys who are not as computer savvy as they should be. Furthermore, most attorneys simply LOVE PAPER and all things stationery. I am guilty. I love law offices ...