Magistrate shortage in PoS

A shortage of Port-of-Spain Magistrates’ has resulted in the dissatisfaction of attorneys, the public and prisoners alike. For the past three days, police officers attached to the Court have had to deal with rowdy friends and relatives of prisoners who are either not being granted bail, having their matters adjourned or not having their matters heard at all due to the fact that three of the customary six magistrates have been absent for various reasons. The situation resulted in an uproar among prisoners who waited for almost an hour in the holding bay before a Justice of the Peace was called upon to adjourn the matters. During the chaos one prisoner exclaimed, “This is a violation of my rights. I is a human!” Several attorneys were also affected as they told Newsday that they were all prepared to have their matters dealt with but could not proceed.