NYLO interns go to court

With notebooks and camera, the trio witnessed three young persons being sentenced by a magistrate. They chatted with attorneys, police officers, shook hands with a Justice of the Peace, and, even caught a glimpse of the prisoners’ holding bay cells.

Chequana Wheeler, Raziah Mohammed and Giatri Lalla, sat in the Fourth Court where magistrate Natalie Diop presided and heard the complaints of prisoner, Nicholas Raymond, He told the magistrate that he was arrested last week Monday and but police promised to take him to court, but they never did until yesterday.

The interns then went over to the First Court where Senior magistrate Nanette Forde-John presided.

They sat at the press table and listened to a matter in which three teenagers, 16, 17 and 18-years-old, pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery. After Forde- John passed sentence and adjourned matters for the morning period, the interns seized the opportunity to question the prosecutor and PC Crawford on what “three years probation” and “200 hours community service” would mean for the accused teens. NYLO is an education literacy partnership between Newsday and the Ministry of Education to engage students who are interested in writing and communicating effectively with others via the news media. Wheeler, Mohammed and Lalla, introduced themselves to veteran Justice of the Peace Ezra Dubay, on the corridors of the courthouse, as well as to Spanish interpreter Carmelita Robertson and WPC Hema Singh — the latter two assigned to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of National Security. The interns commented that yesterday’s day in court, was an eye-opening experience for them on how the judicial system operates as part of their larger society.