MAGISTRATE Dylon Bess has been asked by acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, to appear before the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) following a complaint by Guyana Trans United.
A complaint of alleged denial of justice was lodged on March 20, 2017 against Magistrate Bess by Director of Guyana Trans United, Quincy McEwan.
McEwan’s complaint was referenced as “Magistrate Dylon Bess denial of access to justice for transgender Guyanese.”

In response to the matter raised, Justice Cummings-Edwards in a letter seen by this publication stated that a decision has been taken to have the magistrate appear before the JSC in relation to the complaint.
Meanwhile, it was reported by the BBC that Petronella Trotman has complained about the struggles of seeking justice as a transgender woman.
In the report, she stated that it is not easy in Guyana due to a colonial-era law, now 124 years old that criminalises cross-dressing.
On her first day in the courtroom, Petronella Trotman was told by the presiding magistrate to “dress like a man” at her next court date.

The BBC stated that when she returned to court on March 2 to hear the final verdict, she defiantly wore a blue top and a long, patterned skirt.
This time, Magistrate Bess refused her entry, citing “inappropriate dress.”
“I felt really bad because the magistrate ordered me out of the court and he literally tried the case without me,” Trotman told the BBC.
The case was dismissed and, with Trotman not allowed inside the court, she learned of the decision only when her alleged attacker shared the news upon leaving the courtroom.
In another instance, members of the transgender community and human rights activists had staged a protest action in front of the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court after one of their own was put out of the court room for cross-dressing.

The Guyana Chronicle had reported that David Bissoon, who is identified as a woman and is known as “Twinkle,” was charged with the offence of larceny and re-appeared before Magistrate Bess, but was instructed to leave the courtroom because she was wearing a dress.