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During an already busy Remand Court, Judge Graeme McKerrell called a halt to proceedings to castigate the police on repeated mistakes in the information supplied to the Court.
Court sheets are drafted prior to all court sittings in the Magistrate’s Court. They are factual summaries of charges and summonses. During proceedings, the Greffier will read out charges from the sheets to the defendents so they can make a plea.
The responsibility for accurate court sheets falls to Guernsey Police.
Pictured: Judge McKerrell put a halt to proceedings during a sitting of the Magistrate's Court to air his concerns: “I’ve bitten my tongue for a long time.”
A busy Monday morning was beset with a number of mistakes. These included draft entries that should have been amended before the hearing, and charges that should’ve been removed entirely.
“The mistakes this morning have been too numerous to count,” said Judge McKerrell, calling a time-out to proceedings.
“I’m going to say this now to save me saying it at the end. This is beyond a joke – the Court Officer either doesn’t know their responsibilities or doesn’t care.”
Judge McKerrell also highlighted the importance of checking the court sheets prior to them being read out in the Magistrate’s Court, a responsibility which falls to the Crown Advocate.
He finished by referring to another recent case, in which witnesses' names were copied and pasted onto the wrong court sheet.
Bailiwick Law Enforcement chose not to comment on Judge McKerrell’s comments.
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