STAFF shortages at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) have reached critical levels resulting in the department being unable to properly man all the courts in TT.
Within the last two weeks, there have been reports that prosecutors have not been appearing for some case-management conference (CMC) hearings before judges, excluding trials.
Newsday understands that following the departure of three senior prosecutors in December to take up judgeships in TT and Belize, with two mid-level attorneys resigning, efforts are being made to train the existing complement of prosecutors to handle cases at the magisterial, High Court and Appeal Court levels.
Newsday was told all prosecutors, regardless of how long ago they were called to the bar, need the training to prosecute in the criminal courts.
“So they are now training the new state counsel I’s, who have been there for six months, to go to the magistrates’ courts to take the places of the senior staff who now have to go up to the High Court. Those senior magistrates’ court officers are only now being trained to go up to the High Court.”
Newsday was also told the situation should be rectified by March which will allow prosecutors to appear before judges for CMCs and other trial issues in the assizes.
Questions were sent to DPP Roger Gaspard, SC, but he is yet to respond.
[caption id="attachment_1000750" align="alignnone" width="911"] DPP Roger Gaspard has previously raised concerns about his department's staff shortages. -[/caption]
Newsday understands that Gaspard has written to the Chief Justice on the issue as his department does not have sufficient staff to attend the increased number of criminal courts and case management hearings.
However, judicial sources said the absence of prosecutors at the High Court for the past weeks was troubling and resulted in a waste of time and money.
“Hundreds of jurors were summoned, missing a day's work and pay...And, this is apart from the waste of money by the Judiciary.”
Newsday was told that the DPP would have known since last October that there were new judges to be appointed when the Judicial and Legal Service Commission wrote to him informing him that two of his deputies – Tricia Hudlin-Cooper and George Busby – were leaving the State’s criminal law department.
A third senior prosecutor – assistant DPP Nigel Pilgrim – was appointed a judge in Belize and he takes up the position this month.
“He saw appointments take place in December.”
Between December and January, 14 new judges were appointed and have been assigned to the criminal and civil divisions of the Judiciary, increasing the complement of Puisne judges of the Supreme Court to 42.
There was an expectation that all courts would be manned by prosecutors but, “We are now in February and all the courts are not manned.”
At present, there are 58 prosecutors at the DPP’s office and Newsday was told that it was inevitable that some of them would leave for more lucrative positions.
Other than having senior prosecutors leave to