Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Mar 23, 2023

BVI should establish jury pool board — Fraser

BVI should establish jury pool board — Fraser

Opposition Leader Julian Fraser has suggested that a jury pool board be established to address some of the concerns local courts face as it relates to the territory’s limited pool of jurors.

The Commission of Inquiry (COI) report recommended that consideration should be given to increasing the size of the BVI’s jury pool by changing the criteria to enable and require those who are long-term residents for 10 years or more to sit on juries.

But while debating the proposed Jury Act of 2022 in the House of Assembly yesterday, Fraser said this was a ‘total no-no’ for him.

“They’re asking us to add persons who hold a certificate of residence. Just simply holding a certificate of residence and being between the ages of 18 and 70; you are eligible to be a juror, save for the exemptions that are in the bill. I do not, and I will say it again, I do not agree with that,” Fraser stated.

He noted that the current jury pool only consists of a little more than 1,000 people and questioned why all Belongers were not being used for the jury pool. Under the existing legislation, Belongers are only eligible to be jurors once they are registered to vote. But Fraser argued that many Belongers are not registered on the voters’ list.

“You have an enormous amount of people on that list. Like I said, it’s 13,500. And from that 13,500 you’re telling me still that you’re having problems with your pool for the jury? I have an issue with that,” Fraser said.

“Until someone shows me that every single Belonger who is eligible to be a juror is being looked at and placed in a pool and not just those who are registered to vote, I am not convinced that we need to … add some of these categories that they’re asking us to add,” he added.

Jury Pool Board


According to the Opposition Leader, a jury pool board would better be able to harness the time-consuming task of ensuring all Belongers residents are placed in the jury pool.

“We have a board for immigration that determines who should and should not become Belongers and host certificate of residence. We can do that. I don’t believe that as it now stands, the persons who are responsible for creating the pool have the time to do it. They have other things to do. This could be time-consuming if done right. This doesn’t seem to me to be a priority job. And I think it should be assigned to someone or a board whose priority it is to create the pool. Everything else we do has a board or a commission for the purpose,” Fraser argued.

Fraser further said the Registrar of the Supreme Court has a whole lot of other things to do and said this should not include the mundane task of combing through a voter registration list or combing through the immigration and naturalisation or passport act to see who has Belonger status before filtering it to see who should be disqualified.

“I don’t think that that’s a role for a Registrar of the Supreme Court,” he added.

Slippery slope


In the meantime, Fraser argued that the territory was heading down a “slippery slope” in seeking to add additional categories of persons to widen the jury pool.

According to Fraser, legislators needed to first ensure that the persons who are charged with the responsibility of creating the jury pool are exhausting all the categories that are available to them before simply increasing the pool or adding new categories and passing the bill.

“We’re going down a slippery slope, and the last time I checked, brakes can’t help you. So let’s not take that track down the road, that slippery slope… brakes can’t help you. If we’re going to do anything, let’s do it right,” Fraser urged.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
Close
0:00
0:00
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
BVI Freedom Song
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
Hello Dolly
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Yes He Can
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
What A Friend We Have In Jesus
A brief banking situation report
Unforgettable
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
Touch The Hem Of His Garment
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
The Lord's Prayer
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
THE GOD MOVEMENT...BEAUTIFUL BVI
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Siyahamba
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
Ray Charles And The Voices Of Jubilaton, Oh, Happy Day
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
Ramblin' Rose
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Protoje - Who Knows ft. Chronixx
A Mississippian man, who was once considered a “ticking time bomb,” has lost a whopping 165 kilograms! What motivated this incredible transformation?
Pressure - Virgin Islands Nice
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
Phil Wickham - House Of The Lord
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
My God Is Real (Yes, God Is Real)
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
The Lion King Circle of Life by LEBO M. — LIVE at the HAVASI Symphonic
Fitness scam
Louis Armstrong - When The Saints Go Marching In
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Kanye West Sunday Service - hallelujah, salvation, and glory
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Jonathan Nelson - I Believe (Island Medley
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
From The Virgin Islands Sqad Up
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Common, John Legend - Glory
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
Anthony Evans vs. Jesse Campbell - If I Ain't Got You
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
I have a dream, MLK inspiring speech
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Aretha Franklin, Marvis Staples - Oh Happy Day
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
BVI Freedom Song
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
Billy Preston - You Can't Beat God Giving (Live)
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
VIRGIN ISLANDS REGGAE CARIBBEAN RIDDIMZ
JP Morgan Becomes First Bank to Predict UK Will Avoid Recession
Oh Happy Day Edwin Hawkins - Anthony Brown w FBCG Combined Choir
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
'Stand by Me' performed by Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
National Anthem of the British Virgin Islands - Oh, Beautiful Virgin
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Hello Dolly
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
for KING & COUNTRY - Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae & The WRLDFMS Tony Wi
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Yes He Can
×