Grenada Magistrate's Court

As per a previous post, a burglar entered our apartment in early July and stole money from us while we were sleeping. The police caught the burglar and they held him in custody until he was called to go to court. We were asked by the police to be present as witnesses in front of the magistrate. So we did. Twice so far: on July 28th and August 11th. Very interesting...

The court house is generally filled with looky-loos and family and friends of people waiting to be called into the courtroom and they were all collected in a relatively small non-air-conditioned foyer.

The room is about 14 feet wide by 25 feet deep with the judge sitting at her bench on a raised platform at the front of the room. She speaks in what would be considered a normal tone and volume so it is imperative that you listen carefully to what is being said. However, private conversations are constantly being held between officers, lawyers and prisoners so it is difficult to follow the proceedings. There is a narrow hallway that leads from the foyer to the door into the back of the courtroom where prisoners and witness alike enter.

A court officer stands in that doorway and bellows loudly the names of persons who the judge wishes to see. The inside of the courtroom has five rows of church pews. The pews are just long enough to hold 6 people squeezed in shoulder to shoulder. The back pew is used by lawyers and police officers, the next two rows from back are used by witnesses and more lawyers and the front two are used by prisoners who arrive wearing handcuffs. Handcuffs are removed for their time in the courtroom.

While we were waiting in the hallway to be let into the court room, 6 or 8 gnarly looking prisoners who were finished speaking with the judge were escorted by police officers out into the narrow hallway and stood right next to us while they were handcuffed again. We had to flatten ourselves against the hallway walls to make room for them to exit.

The judge is handed folded paper documents by a courtroom assistant with details of each case and she unfolds them on her bench for viewing. The police representative has a small desk close to the back of the courtroom and he has copies of the case documents being presented. They talk about each case and we found that nine times out of ten the person being called into the court room is announced as “not present” after the bellowing by the court officer ceases.

People in police custody are seated where ever there is an empty space and prisoners are shuffled across pews to make room for additional prisoners when they are called. The most prisoners we counted at one time was 13. Several times I had prisoners seated right next to me. Other times legal counsel sat next to me.

There is a list of the cases for the day, but no timetable for the order of cases so we had no idea when the judge would call for the prisoner that robbed us. So we just sat there and waited and watched silently at the proceedings.

One of the more (perhaps most) senior legal counsels, who was there to represent persons who were in trouble, was a big loud mouth and he seemed to enjoy having his own loud conversations with others in the room while the judge was carrying on with her work. You could see that the judge was annoyed but she never said anything to him. We are not sure but we thought someone called him with the title “Sir” and perhaps that he had been knighted. Perhaps the judge didn't want to cross him... Anyway, we quietly commented to each other that the whole thing seemed to be kangaroo court of sorts because of the mayhem and disorderly proceedings.

The prisoner who robbed us was finally called and, on both occasions that we were in the courtroom, he was placed on the pew right in front of where were sitting. He sat there while the judge decided what to do with other prisoners already in the room. Then, when she was ready, the judge opened up all the case files that were his and she started raising her eyebrows when the stack kept getting deeper. She read the charges against him on each one. He plead guilty to breaking and entering our apartment and he also plead guilty to stealing from us.

On other cases he either plead guilty or not guilty to breaking and entering and yet he plead guilty for stealing from some of those places. The judge thought that was somewhat odd. How could he be not guilty to breaking and entering and yet he said he was guilty of stealing. Some of the police started joking that perhaps the door was wide open – everyone laughed. They are sending him out for a psychiatric evaluation before they move forward with court on the not guilty pleadings.

The sentencing for charges against him for robbing us will done after the court hears the proceedings from the not guilty cases. He is still in custody.