The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

THE Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction of Darien Hernandez, a Cuban national, who had pleaded guilty to illegal landing, citing critical errors in the original case that rendered the conviction invalid.

Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley convicted Mr Hernandez in August 2024 after the man pleaded guilty to illegal landing under section 19 of the Immigration Act. He was fined $300, risking six months in prison if the fine was not paid. 

Unrepresented during the trial, he later appealed the ruling, noting his lack of English proficiency and limited understanding of the legal process.

“We granted the extension of time application, allowed the appeal, and quashed the Intended Appellant’s conviction on the basis that we were satisfied that an error of law was readily apparent on the face of the record itself,” wrote Justice Stella Crane-Scott in the court’s ruling. Justice Roy Jones Evans and Madam Justice Petra Charles also adjudicated the case.

The court found that the prosecution failed to prove the elements of illegal landing, which the Immigration Act defines as disembarking from a vessel or attempting to land without permission from an immigration officer.

Mr Hernandez had been intercepted by the US Coast Guard in Bahamian territorial waters but had never set foot on Bahamian soil or attempted to do so.

“There is nothing in the facts relied upon before the learned Chief Magistrate that shows that the intended appellant had ever ‘landed’ or that he had ‘attempted to land’ on Bahamian soil within the meaning of section 2 of the Immigration Act,” Justice Evans noted in the judgement. 

Emphasising the duty of judicial officers, Justice Evans added: “A judicial officer is not only expected but required to perform a careful scrutiny of the elements of any statutory offence. This includes carefully checking the legal provisions under which the charges are laid and satisfying [themselves] that the facts or evidence before the court align with the elements of the charge.”

Despite his guilty plea, the court determined that Mr Hernandez’s conviction was a “nullity” due to the absence of evidence showing illegal landing. 

The case has been sent back to the Magistrate’s Court for further proceedings, though the court hinted that a retrial might be unnecessary.

Justice Crane-Scott said: “The mere fact that the intended appellant was found on a go-fast boat near Cay-Sal (along with others) in Bahamian territorial waters near Grand Bahama without the leave of an immigration officer is not sufficient to establish the offence of illegal landing. 

“What had to be established was that the intended appellant had ‘landed’ (ie disembarked), or ‘attempted to land’ in The Bahamas from a place outside The Bahamas without the requisite permission.”