The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ELECTED officials passed a bill yesterday that would let people waive their constitutional right to a jury trial in favour of a trial by a judge alone.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis noted that the United States, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Netherlands are among various countries that let defendants choose a trial by judge alone. 

He said bench trials can protect against biased juries, facilitate shorter trials and produce greater efficiency. 

During the Eugene Dupuch Distinguish Lecture’s 25th anniversary meeting in March, former chief justices highlighted issues with jury trials and backed reforms for more bench trials. 

Long Island MP Adrian Gibson expressed concern about the risk of a single judge letting their biases affect their judgement. He said despite judges’ efforts to be impartial, they may bring their own biases when making decisions.

“A single judge may have a limited range of perspective and experiences as opposed or compared to a panel of judges, where you have a diverse perspective sitting in a panel of three,” he said.

He suggested having a panel of three judges is a better approach. He acknowledged having three judges could be costly and resource-intensive. 

“However, I believe it has some guarantees, such as a diverse perspective, real checks and balances. Consistency, uniformity, where you know, the panel judgments are subjected to review and discussion among multiple judges enhances decision making,” he said.

Kwasi Thompson, MP for East Grand Bahama, questioned whether people will pursue the bench trial option. He said the Bahamian society is accustomed to jury trials and many prefer to take their chances with a jury rather than a single judge.

Elected officials also passed a bill to amend the Supreme Court Act. 

Mr Davis said the bill would facilitate making rules to regulate and promote the active management of criminal and civil matters.

“Previous reforms led to progress on case backlogs, and today we are taking an important step forward to increase efficiencies in our justice system,” he said. “I note, too, that this bill acknowledges considerable changes are also needed when it comes to the case management of civil matters, where delays have also long plagued our system.”