Gun Court Magistrate Joyann Ferguson-Pratt refused to allow an adjournment in a gun court case, when the defendant’s lawyer, Carlson Shurland, didn’t show up for the trial.
Saying she would not contribute to the backlog of cases, Magistrate Ferguson-Pratt went ahead with Edward Munroe’s trial, which had been scheduled for September 7 and 8.
Munroe is charged with unlawful possession of a 7.62 assault rifle, an extremelt dangerous weapon, and 19 rounds of ammunition for the gun.
His lawyer, Mr Shurland, was apparently in involbed in a trial in the Supreme Court before Acting Chief Justice Hartman Longley.
While Magistrate noted that the Supreme Court takes precedence over the magistrates’ courts, she also noted that the Supreme Court case was fixed for trial after Mr Munroe had instructed – and retained Shurland for his gun court case.
She said that mr Shurland had a a professional duty to have another lawyer appear in his place.
The magistrate said that four of the five prosecution witnesses that were present had come from Freeport, Grand Bahama, at the public’s expense and she refused to be part of the irresponsible use of government money.
Defence lawyers in the Bahamas are known for pulling deliberate no-shows in an attempt to delay cases. Sometimes, prosecution witnesses can not be brought back to court for additional appearances, which can lead to a dismissal of the case against their clients.
