With six courts sitting on Monday and only five courtrooms, facilities at the Law Courts Building were strained until the resourceful staff did some improvising.
With Court Administrator Delene Cacho on scheduled leave, her office was turned into a temporary courtroom for Magistrate Grace Donalds. Fortunately, Mrs. Donalds had only one trial matter set, so not many people had to attend.
The potential problem was not only limited space but also the need to enter and exit through the electronically locked door leading to staff working areas.
Meanwhile, in Court 1, Justice Charles Quin was presiding over a jury trial involving a charge of attempted murder.
Justice Quin’s office was moved temporarily to the court library because the three judges of the Court of Appeal have been installed in his chambers.
The Court of Appeal began its winter session in Court 2, where newly appointed Justice Geoffrey Vos was welcomed by the local bar and Acting President Ian Forte. Sitting with them is Justice Elliott Mottley.
In Court 3, Magistrate Nova Hall dealt with her usual criminal list while in Court 4 Chief Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale heard traffic cases along with five criminal matters.
Court 4 is on the ground floor of Kirk House, across Albert Panton Street from the Law Courts Building. In Court 5 upstairs, Justice Lennon Campbell was presiding over a jury trial in an assault matter.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, Justice Alexander Henderson and Justice Angus Foster were all dealing with matters in their chambers.
On Tuesday, the pressure was expected to ease because the Court of Appeal needed a courtroom for only a short time to deliver a decision. That was scheduled for 10am when, ordinarily, the Chief Magistrate would still be in her chambers in conference with the treatment providers for the weekly Drug Rehabilitation Court.
The Court of Appeal sits until 12 December. There will be times when a courtroom is not needed because the judges have some days scheduled for reading appeal bundles and writing judgments.
The Law Courts Building has a bulletin board in the foyer, staff members post daily court lists and their locations, so people can easily see where they need to go. In addition, each Summary Court has a list affixed to the door.
Before Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, the George Town Town Hall had frequently been used as a Magistrate’s Court. It has not been available since.
Another venue was the Tower Building, used only occasionally. That facility was also lost after Ivan, with the building razed earlier this year.
Also gazetted for possible use as a courtroom years ago was the Harquail Theatre. However, regular courtroom users have said this venue would be impractical except for a single trial matter that was expected to last some time.
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