-draft ‘Bail Bill’ at AG’s Chambers for review

A City Magistrate’s decision to grant bail to four men found with unlicensed firearms, contrary to the modus operandi, and at a time when crime is being described as a “serious problem” in Guyana, has evoked the concern of the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, S.C.

The matter, which prompted the Attorney-General’s attention, was reported as involving four males, one of whom, on May 26, 2021, at Main Street, Georgetown, was found with a 9mm Glock pistol in his crotch, and the other three, at Brickdam, Georgetown, were found with a .32 Taurus pistol and two matching rounds under the driver’s seat of a vehicle they were in.

When the matters were heard on May 28, 2021, at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, the defendants were granted bail in the sum of $200,000 each, and they were instructed to make their next court appearance on June 25, 2021.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, the Attorney-General expressed that from the reported facts of the matter, no inference favourable to the defendants can be drawn, hence the decision of the magistrate to release the men on bail has rightfully “evoked grave concern and criticism among members of the public.”

“To assert that crime is a serious problem in our country may be putting it mildly. To not recognise that gun-related crimes threaten the safety of every citizen would be a forbearance in naivety,” the Attorney-General wrote, noting that these and other similar factors are at the discretion of the magistrate to take into account when considering the granting or refusal of bail.

Further, he reminded that the Ninth Parliament of Guyana, due to the “devastating prevalence and the accompanying societal damage” of gun-related crimes, had enacted the Firearms (Amendment) Act 2007, to circumscribe judicial officers’ discretion when granting bail for firearm offences.

That amendment states that no person arrested for any offence under Sections 16, 37 or 38 of the Firearms Act, shall be admitted to bail, unless the prosecution has had an opportunity to intervene and unless there are ‘special reasons’ for admitting the person to bail, which shall be recorded in writing and the trial shall be within reasonable time.

“From the available factual matrix, no doubt the offence for which these men are charged is captured by Section 16 of the Act. The Press reports allude to the presence of a prosecutor in Court. However, there is nothing in the news narrative to suggest the presence of ‘special reasons’ which would have rendered the defendant’s admission to bail, possible,” Nandlall wrote.

He added, “Based upon the facts elucidated in the news report, it is impossible to conceive what would have constituted ‘special reasons’, thereby enabling the learned magistrate to admit these persons to bail. It is my hope that the statutory prescription was complied with and those ‘special reasons’ were recorded in writing.”

The Attorney-General noted that as the Executive Officer of the State under whose responsibility the Justice Sector falls, it is possible for him to relate to the public’s concern and criticism as well as the “negative impact” the decision by the magistrate may have on the morale of law enforcement agencies.

“Perhaps the State may soon have to resort to the extreme measure of subjecting like decisions of magistrates to judicial review in the High Court and lodge complaints with the Judicial Service Commission,” he wrote.

Nandlall, during his 2021 budget debate speech in March, 2021, had announced that a Bail Bill was in the process of being promulgated, which will aid in revamping the legal sector. He informed the Sunday Chronicle that a draft of the bill is completed and is currently at the Attorney-General Chambers for review.

“A Bail Bill, hopefully, will bring this anomalous exercise of discretion by magistrates to an end,” the Legal Affairs Minister told the Sunday Chronicle in an invited comment, on Saturday.