Persons charged with murder and other indictable offences may get their cases heard in quick time in the High Court, as new criminal procedures are now being applied.
In the first arraignment hearing of an indictable case filed under the Administration of Justice Indicatable Preliminary Inquiries Amendment Act (AJIPAA) legislation, Justice Lisa Ramsumair-Hinds set the court’s expectations for criminal trials.
According to a release from the Judiciary yesterday, just four months after he was charged, Sheldon Doodnath was brought to trial, arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty.
The process allowed the judge to identify the course of the case and set strict timelines for its progress.
In opening remarks, the judge said, “In order to make the first date of hearing a more meaningful event … on the first date of hearing … (the accused) himself should know whether we are going to trial or not, at the very least.”
The judge explained that in taking this approach, the directions which follow, “…will be purposeful so that every subsequent event is a possible date on which the matter can be determined”.
She reminded the attorneys to familiarise themselves fully with the new rules, which supported greater efficiency for the hearing of criminal matters.
Justice Ramsumair-Hinds also directed that with the accused entering a not-guilty plea, the attorneys should be ready to file documents to proceed to trial quickly.
She also assigned a dedicated case progression officer to support smooth case management.
At Wednesday’s pre-trial hearing, the judge said, “My hope is that every non-capital indictable matter is determined within a year and every new capital indictment will be determined in two years. That’s my objective.”
Doodnath’s case was filed on January 11, 2024, alleging offences including kidnapping and larceny of a motor vehicle. The sufficiency hearing was completed on April 16, when Master Sarah Da Silva committed him to stand trial before the San Fernando Assizes.
Ramsumair-Hinds anticipates a completed trial before the end of July.
Before the implementation of AJIPAA, indictable cases were filed at the Magistrates’ Courts/District Courts and underwent an extensive process of preliminary enquiries, often spanning several years, before being set for trial at the High Court.
Under the new AJIPAA legislation and Rules of Court, new indictable cases are filed directly at the Criminal High Court, and progress through initial and sufficiency hearings before proceeding to trial.
Representing the State was Charmaine Samuel, while the accused was represented amicus curiae by Roshan Babwah. Whitney Franklyn appeared from the Public Defenders Department, as the accused has applied for legal aid representation.
Representing the State was State Attorney Charmaine Samuel, while the accused was represented amicus curiae by Roshan Babwah, attorney-at-law. Whitney Franklyn appeared from the Public Defenders
Department, as the accused has applied for legal aid representation.