Govt urged to tread carefully on bail change
By Candia Dames ~ Guardian News Editor ~ candia@nasguard.com:
In crafting its amendment to the Bail Act the government must be careful that it does not legislate anything that would violate the constitutional rights of any citizens, according to prominent attorney Damian Gomez.
Another noted attorney, Wayne Munroe, said in an interview with The Nassau Guardian yesterday that any law that is found to be unconstitutional would have no impact.
"The Supreme Court will strike down any law that would violate somebody's constitutional right," Munroe said.
Gomez and Munroe, who spoke to The Guardian separately, were reacting to the government's declaration in the Speech from the Throne that it will bring an amendment to Parliament which would further restrict the right to bail for persons charged with serious crimes, and to limit the circumstances under which bail may be granted.
Munroe noted that currently bail is granted in three instances: When a suspect has been on remand for an unreasonable period of time; when a judge determines the evidence against that suspect is not strong and when a determination is made that prison conditions are such that a medical condition might result in a person's death in prison.
Under the Bahamian constitution, if any person is charged with a criminal offense, unless the charge is withdrawn, the case shall be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court established by law.
Gomez believes that it is often the fault of the Office of the Attorney General that many cases are delayed.
"The real question is why is it taking us so long to provide the attorney general's office with the resources to ensure that it carries out its lawful mandate," he said. "If it isn't a question of resources, what is happening in that office that causes delays which inflict incarceration of persons who have in fact not been convicted? We are hopeful that the government in its efforts to curtail the conditions under which bail is granted does not impede on the constitutional rights of accused persons and does not ignore the responsibility of the government to ensure our attorney general's office [has the necessary resources] and is efficient in the delivery of the services the public expects it to deliver.
"Until we resolve those problems associated with efficiency and with levels of resources we are going to be confronted with situations in which the public becomes alarmed, anxious and fearful that the law is not in fact being carried out and that persons are able to commit crimes and to do so with impunity. We are hopeful that the resources will be provided to the attorney general's office and I will be surprised if any legislative measure can be used as a substitute for the resources for that department. Until that department is properly resourced we will have the specter of long delays which result in bail being granted."
Gomez added, "We can only at this stage reiterate the warning that we are a constitutional democracy and the provisions of Article 20 of the constitution apply to criminal proceedings and civil proceedings, and the rights of accused persons are constitutionally protected rights."
Meanwhile, Munroe questioned whether the government's motives are pure as it regards its plan to introduce an amendment to the Bail Act.
"I think it's done for a cheap political gain and if that's how they tend to deal with the liberty of the subject then it's for the subject to determine whether that's reasonable," he said.
The government noted in the Speech from the Throne that a number of people who commit crimes do so while on bail pending trial for other offenses.
April 16 2010
thenassauguardian
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.