–no accommodation is available for the press media
THE Press media, facing a lack of accommodation in the Supreme Court of Judicature in this country, is desperately looking for help in having this situation rectified.
One shining example in this regard is the Guyana Court of Appeal, which has never ceased providing accommodation for the press media and journalists from its inception.The Supreme Courts, which in the past used to provide at least a press table in each courtroom, now has no press accommodation, and at least two junior judges would have members of the press accommodated among the public in the gallery, far from the witness box, where hearing is almost difficult. Such a situation is a precursor for inaccurate reporting.

A senior journalist who has worked in the courts from the days before some senior judges became chancellors now finds it difficult to understand why learned judges should object to members of the press being comfortably seated in their courts, which is most helpful to accurate reporting.

Except for the two junior judges, the rest of the judges sympathise with the press and would allow one senior journalist to sit in the well of the court, where the Press Table used to be accommodated. But the two junior judges have each objected to journalist sitting in that position, each contending that they do not wish to have persons sitting in front of them on either their left or right sides.

And at least one of the junior judges has made it clear that he was the boss of his court and that no one could tell him how to operate it. That explanation was forthcoming when the particular journalist asked the judge if his ruling in regard to seating accommodation for the senior journalist was final, or whether it was subject to confirmation.

Months ago, after the first junior judge had made his pronouncement, the matter had been taken up with a relative officer of the court, who had promised to help. However, he could not be seen yesterday when the second incident occurred, wherein the other junior judge, through his registrar — a male clerk who had given permission to the journalist to sit in the court — apologised to the writer and had espoused the same excuse given by his colleague months ago.

The chair that was borrowed from the Police Outpost yesterday had to be returned, and the journalist did not sit with the public, as suggested by the judge, but left the court, and will return later with hope that Press accommodation would be provided in the Supreme Court, as is done in the Guyana Court of Appeal and in courts in the Caribbean and other parts of the world.

This journalist, who has been in the profession for approximately 50 years, had come in contact with several judges who could be classified as experts, some of whom are dead while some are still alive. These had all shown a high regard and respect for the media.
Such illustrious jurists include persons like Chancellors E.V. Luckhoo, J.O.F. Haynes, Kenneth Stoby, Aubrey Bishop, Keith Massiah and Carl Singh; Justices of Appeal Prem Persaud, Arthur Chung, C.J. Fung-A-Fat, Nandram Kissoon, P.A. Cummings, Yonette Cumings-Edwards, Claudette Singh, Chief Justice Frank Holder (Barbadian) Chief Justices A.A Luckhoo (Guyanese), R. Harper, H. B.S. Bollers, Ian Chang; Senior Judges Adrian Date, Sydney Miller, Ronald Luckhoo, Roxanne George, Denis Hanoman Singh, James Bovell-Drakes, Franklyn Holder(Guyanese) Diana Insanally, Rishi Persaud, Harnanan, Dawn Gregory, Ramraj Jagnandan, George Pompey and Brassington Reynolds.
Written By George Barclay