KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent, CMC – A businessman has been summoned to seem earlier than Excessive Courtroom Choose Justice Rickie Burnett after he reportedly threatened to dismiss certainly one of his workers members if she responded to a jury summons.
The event got here simply over a month after a lawyer informed the Excessive Courtroom that the Jury Act must be amended to permit public servants to function jurors. Residents of the Grenadines are additionally barred from the jury pool.
The feminine employee on the retail retailer in Kingstown was the one juror absent among the many 93 summoned to attend court docket on Tuesday, the primary sitting of the January assizes, and that choose that she seem earlier than him on Wednesday to elucidate herself.
“That’s as a result of the boss man informed me if I’m to go away work to attend right here, he’s going to fireside me,” the lady informed the choose, to which he requested, “Is he nonetheless going to fireside you?”
“I’m not positive. I’m uncertain if he would lay me off on the finish of this,” she replied. The choose then informed the juror that he may go. Additional, he would “pause some time.”
Crown Counsel Renee Simmons informed the court docket of an identical state of affairs earlier than one other choose, who despatched the police to the employer and introduced him earlier than the court docket.
She mentioned that in that occasion, the choose defined to the employer the significance of jurors and their service and that the employer couldn’t hearth the juror.
Simmons mentioned Justice Cottle gave the employer a really stern warning.
“Given what she is saying, I might assume that’s the greatest plan of action,” the Crown Counsel mentioned, referring to the present state of affairs.
Justice Burnett mentioned that’s exactly what he was planning on doing. He summoned the employer to seem earlier than him, noting that the lady had mentioned he was on the court docket earlier that morning.
When the employer appeared earlier than the court docket, the choose defined the explanation for summoning him to court docket. He additionally defined how the justice system capabilities.
“If there aren’t any jurors, we could not have any prison court docket as a result of that’s the legislation – choose and jury,” Justice Burnett mentioned.
The employer confirmed that the juror works for him, saying, “I by no means informed her to not come to court docket. She was a juror final yr or the yr earlier than. I informed her I understood the legislation however would rent somebody if she have been a juror once more.
“I by no means informed her I used to be going to fireside her,” he mentioned, including that the juror had been on maternity depart for 3 months and he “didn’t do something.”
The legislation gives for 3 months’ paid maternity depart for workers.
“There was a misunderstanding,” the businessman mentioned, including that he didn’t inform the employee that he would have her changed if she served as a juror.
He mentioned he informed her he would “add yet another workers, and I’ll nonetheless pay her.” The businessman mentioned that final yr, one other employee served as a juror.
“So, you wouldn’t have any problem in her serving within the assizes?” the choose requested.
The businessman mentioned, “In no way,” including that the juror would stay employed.
The Crown Counsel requested the court docket to confirm that the juror could be granted the identical pay, and the businessman mentioned this is able to be the case, including that he didn’t know that the juror needed to come to court docket on Tuesday.
“I’m blissful that now we have settled this matter. As a result of you’ll not wish to hinder my court docket from functioning? Justice Burnett mentioned, to which the businessman replied, “In no way. We’re underneath the legislation”.
“Penalties will comply with in the event you hinder the court docket,” the choose mentioned, including, “and in the event you do this, you may be charged for doing that, and as an excellent employer, you wouldn’t do this. Now we have settled this, and I anticipate to see [this juror] tomorrow at 9 a.m.”
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