GRi in Court Ghana
15 - 02 - 2001
High Court Judge advocates for trial by
assessors
Epilepsy
stops court from trying thief
High Court Judge advocates for trial by
assessors
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 15 February 2001
Mr Justice Stephen K. Kanyoke, Supervising High Court Judge for Ashanti, has advocated trials by assessors instead of jury trials in criminal assizes.
He said that, in trials by assessors, the judge will have the last word on the guilt or otherwise of the accused other than jury trials where, more often than not, innocent persons are committed whilst the guilty are acquitted because the judge cannot do anything even where the evidence is overwhelming that the accused is guilty or not.
Mr Justice Kanyoke was speaking at the opening of this year's criminal assizes in Kumasi on Wednesday.
Criminal assizes is a period within the legal year where offences of serious nature are tried. Some of the offences are murder, manslaughter, robbery and rape. These offences are so serious that they are tried only with jury.
Mr Justice Kanyoke noted that trial by assessors will go a long way to reduce if not eliminate the apparent injustices that occur in jury trials.
The Supervising High Court Judge, who presided over the criminal session last year, appealed to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice to review the relevant legislation on jury trials and trial with assessors and amend them to give preference to the latter in criminal assizes.
He called for an extension of the period of the criminal session from the current October-July to October-September to help reduce the long list of criminal assizes cases.
Mr. Justice Kanyoke said the Chief Justice could give special permission to the trial judge to continue to sit throughout the legal vacation or possibly on Saturdays.
On speedy trial of criminal assizes, Mr Kanyoke suggested that at least two out of the current six high courts in Kumasi could be used for the criminal session and the remaining four for other cases so that justice could be seen to have been done.
Mr Justice Kanyoke said if the jury trial will be maintained and the quality of administration of justice is to be improved, then the government should establish hostels where the jurors will be confined until the cases in which they are involved are disposed of or until the closure of the criminal session.
He explained that this will ensure that jurors take longer periods to consider their verdict and in addition will not be let loose to mix with the public in order that justice is not only done but will be seen to have been done.
On the issue of granting bail to accused persons who have committed very serious offences, Mr Justice Kanyoke suggested that some sections of the criminal procedure code should be amended to debar the lower courts and tribunals from granting bail.
Such powers, he said, should be given to the High Courts only so as to put a stop to the indiscriminate and precipitous granting of bail to accused persons with such offences by the lower courts.
He appealed to members of the bar to assist the courts to dispose of criminal cases promptly and in a just and fair manner by sacrificing a bit of their time and financial gains to take up some of the cases since the Ghana Legal Aid Board is unable to do much due to financial constraints.
"If more lawyers take up some of these cases, it will go a long way to minimise the delay in the disposal of these cases during the assizes period."
Miss Justice Mariama Owusu, Presiding Judge for the Criminal Session, Expressed the hope that, with the collective effort of all stakeholders, especially lawyers, prosecution, the jury, police investigators and the public, this year's session will be successful.
She asked lawyers to ensure that they assemble all their witnesses when cases are scheduled for hearing while police investigators and jurors must avoid lateness and absenteeism.
Mr. J. Ebow Quarshie, President of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), said criminal assizes is significant in the legal calendar of every judicial system where the people from the community are invited to determine the facts of a case as presented and apply the law to give judgement.
He regretted, however, that lawyers have failed to assist in the criminal assizes, and appealed to members to attend the criminal sessions as a form of national service to uphold the rule of law.
Mr. Quarshie noted that most of the people charged with criminal offences are the poor, and urged lawyers to at least take three criminal cases a year as their contribution towards the development of democracy and the rule of law in the country.
He observed that if lawyers assist the bench in the effective and efficient performance of their duties, requests for bail will play a second fiddle in the country's judicial system.
Mr. Dei Kwarteng, Ashanti Regional President of the GBA, suggested that the criminal session should be allowed to run for a year and if possible one of the tribunals should be used for criminal sessions to reduce the cases pending before the courts.
He appealed to members of the bar to re-dedicate themselves to assist the bench and the public to ensure justice to all by participating in the criminal session.
Giving statistics, Mr Kwarteng said in 1999 only 13 out of the 30 criminal cases were disposed of while last year only six out of the 40 cases pending before the court was disposed of.
GRi…/
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Ex soldier remanded for deceit
Accra, (Greater Accra) 15 February 2001
An Accra Circuit Tribunal on Wednesday remanded in prison custody Robert Mawuli Amevor, an ex-soldier for holding himself as a public officer.
Amevor who pleaded not guilty is scheduled to appear on February 21. Prosecuting, Superintendent Elisabeth Allandu said on February 8, information reached the police that the accused was posing as a soldier and was terrorising people at Teshie .
She said policemen who went to arrest him found in hi room a number of military items including two berets with military crown, one pair of military boots, a pullover, and one live 62 mm ammunition though he had been dismissed from the military.
GRi…/
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Aflao
(Volta Region) 15 Feb. 2001
Kofi
Kumado, an 18-year-old unemployed who was standing trial at the Aflao Circuit
Court for stealing, was on Tuesday set free because he suffered an epileptic
fit while in police custody.
The court
cautioned and discharged the accused and explained that since he is deformed in
the arm the prison authorities would not accept him if he was jailed.
The judge
caused laughter when he asked the complainant, Kwamivi Midekor, who is a fetish
priest to use his powers to cure the accused so that he could be prosecuted.
Chief
Inspector Emmanuel Oppong, prosecuting, told the court that on February 10
Medikor, whose shrine was repeatedly burgled by thieves met Kumado on the
shrine compound while he was returning from a journey.
Chief
Inspector Oppong said Midekor escorted Kumado to the shrine only to realise
that the door had been forced open and some items stolen.
He said
Kumado admitted stealing some of the items and led the complainant to a nearby
bush where eight packets of matches, a packet of candles and a bottle of
Aromatic Schnapps, all valued at 28, 000 cedis were retrieved.
GRi../
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