Summary of Administration of Justice PDF

SOWK2001: SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT “A specialized court may be either a superior court of record …or an intermediate court, such as the Family Court in Jamaica (Antoine, 1999, 346) Whatever the status, such courts will have the usual powers grante...

SOWK2001: SUMMARY OF ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT “A specialized court may be either a superior court of record …or an intermediate court, such as the Family Court in Jamaica (Antoine, 1999, 346) Whatever the status, such courts will have the usual powers granted to ordinary courts of law corresponding to the jurisdiction given to them - Is a judicial body established to handle specific types of cases that require expertise or unique approaches. These courts provide more effective, compassionate, and sustainable solutions, addressing the unique needs of certain cases in a way that general courts may not be equipped to handle. Eg family court, children’s court, gun court  FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT All the specialized courts and tribunals have original jurisdiction. This means that they can try matters coming before them at first instance, with the right of appeal reserved to the appropriate court in the hierarchy.” (Antoine, 1999, 346)  FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT Has the jurisdiction of a resident magistrate’s court (now Parish Court) presided over by a resident magistrate The Judicature (Family Court) Act outlines the establishment of the court, the jurisdiction of the court, and the establishment of regional family courts  FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT The Family Court offers judicial and social services to persons in an effort to preserve the family unit and foster the welfare of children. The Juvenile Act was repealed upon the passing of the CCPA. The CCPA makes provisions for the Children’s Court which is presided over by RM  FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT The jurisdiction of the Family Court is a civil one but with the CCPA also deals with criminal one. Family Court has two courts: Children’s Court to deal with matters under the CCPA and a Civil Court dealing with other family matters such as maintenance, custody, adoption and domestic violence.  FAMILY COURT : SPECIALIZED COURT Family matters are also dealt with in the Supreme Court. Given the nature of family matters particularly those involving children there are always social workers in the hearing to assist the judge in preparation of reports for a final determination. Confidentiality is important and so family matters at the RM court are “in camera” meaning in private.  POWERS OF THE FAMILY COURT The family Court has the power to deal with family matters arising out of the Child Care & Protection Act The Children (Adoption of) Act The Children (Guardianship & Custody) Act The Domestic Violence Act The Family Property (Rights of Spouses) Act The Maintenance Act The Status of Children Act POWERS OF THE FAMILY COURT  adoption, childcare and protection, custody and testamentary guardianship of children, declaration of paternity-live (DNA) and deceased, domestic violence, maintenance, property rights of spouses; and youth delinquency 7/1/20XX PITCH DECK TITLE 9 STRUCTURE OF THE JAMAICAN COURT SYSTEM THE JUSTICE SYSTEM Jamaica like most of the English speaking Caribbean has a Justice system that is based on the system in the United Kingdom The Court System has five tiers and 3 types/classification of courts Precedents from English Law and British Commonwealth traditions are used  CLASSIFICATION OF COURTS 1. Inferior Courts/summary courts: Parish Court (previously RM Courts) (& Petty Sessions (n.k.a. Lay Magistrates’ Court) 2. Superior Courts or Courts of Record – High Court or Supreme Court and Court of Appeal 3. Privy Council (England) or Caribbean Court of Justice  CLASSIFICATION OF COURTS Additionally, in Jamaica, there is a different type of court that falls between the superior and inferior courts, namely, an intermediate court” (Antoine, 1999, p.289) Another classification- summary level, the high court level and the appellate level (Brown, 2018). The court is organized according to this structure to correspond to the rank that the particular court is accorded in the judicial system. Thus, the higher the court in the hierarchy, the more authoritative TIERS OF THE JAMAICAN COURT SYSTEM  Privy Council (England) or Caribbean Court of Justice – 5th Tier  The Court of Appeal – 4th tier – Superior court or Court of Record  Supreme Court – 3rd tier on the justice system structure  Parish Court (Resident Magistrate’s Court) -2nd tier  Lay magistrates’ court (Petty Sessions Court) – inferior courts or courts of summary jurisdiction -1st Tier  EXPERT WITNESS Generally only an expert witness may give opinions and draw conclusions. An expert witness is “one who by reason or specialized experience possesses superior knowledge respecting a subject about which persons having no particular training are incapable of forming an accurate or deducing correct conclusions. A witness who has been qualified as an expert and who thereby will be allowed (through his/her answers to questions posed) to assist the jury in understanding complicated and technical subjects not within the understanding of the average lay person.” (Black’s Law Dictionary, 1991) PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 15  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) Used in both criminal and civil proceedings before sentencing Requested by the judge before sentencing A social enquiry report contains information about the defendant in a criminal case his/her social environment and is used to help in sentencing. In the case of civil proceeding eg guardianship, custody and maintenance matters in order to assess the parties' living conditions PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 16  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) Prepared by Probation officer and Social Worker in child protection A probation officer, in preparing this report, will seek to detail the background situation of the offender, such as his or her upbringing and school history, and also try to ascertain what might have led to the committal of the crime. PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 17  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) The probation officer will utilise his or her professional knowledge to interpret the results of the investigations and make recommendations for various sentencing options. The probation officer will ask the offender about his or her job, financial situation, any previous offence and all the circumstances about the offence. A probation officer will seek from the offender whether or not there is remorse towards victims and, where appropriate, consider the impact of the offence on them. PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 18  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) The probation officer will also speak with members of the community to determine their feelings towards the offender, as well as they might want to speak to other people, such as a family or employer, who know the offender. Some judges will not sentence an offender until they have this report, as it is sometimes used to guide even the length of sentences given. The report takes the form of a profile of the offender, the offence the person committed, the circumstances, as well what is the attitude of the community. It will help the court to understand why the person committed the offence and help them to decide how to sentence the offender. Probation reports usually suggest a sentence, however, it is important to understand that it is the court that decides on the sentence and not the probation officer. PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 19  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) In relation to family matters, a judge may also order a social enquiry report so that he or she can have an independent report which details a child's current circumstances, as well as the circumstances of the parents. This means that the probation officer will visit the home of the parent, school, church or other place and examine the arrangements you have made for the child, as well your own. PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 20  SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORT (SER) The judge, in making an order in such an application, will try as best as possible to make an informed decision about the person's ability to care for the child in every way prior to determining whether or not they are in a position to assume full or joint custody. In relation to guardianship applications, the court's concern is more often the ability of the parents to take care of the child on their own, and also the ability of the potential guardian to take care of that child properly. Odane Marston is an attorney-at-law who specialises in conveyancing, administration, probate, recovery of possession, criminal litigation and divorce. https://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20221121/what-social- enquiry-report PITCH DECK TITLE 7/1/20XX 21