A RETRIAL has been ordered for a Gonzales man who was convicted and sentenced to hang for a murder that took place in the district in 2008.
Justices of Appeal Prakash Moosai, Charmaine Pemberton and Gillian Lucky ordered the new trial after they upheld Travis Polo’s appeal and reversed his conviction for the murder of electrician Jamal Bernard, which took place on April 21, 2008, at Olton Road, Gonzales.
Polo was convicted on January 14, 2020, by a jury, and Justice Devan Rampersad read the death sentence out to him.
However, Polo appealed his conviction, raising three successful grounds of appeal which complained of errors made by the judge, which led the Appeal Court to agree the trial process was tainted.
In the unanimous ruling, written by Lucky, the Appeal Court guided trial judges on jury directions on the issue of alibi as Polo raised in his appeal and reminded of the procedure the police should adopt the police on holding verification or identification exercises.
On the former, Lucky encouraged judicial officers to pay close attention to the specimen jury directions available online from several jurisdictions, including TT, which, if followed and adjusted according to the particular circumstances of each case, would significantly reduce the risk of misdirection by a judge to a jury.
The judge also advocated for the adoption of a practice used in other courts on the procedure to follow when jurors return during their deliberations with questions, to “reduce the risk of a full-blown discussion of the jury’s thoughts on any particular issue in the case."
This happened in Polo’s case when the jury returned during their deliberations with a question. The discussion that was held, Lucky said, led to the revelation of information that ought not to have been discussed outside the jury room.
Lucky suggested having the jury write their question and put it in a sealed envelope, as is done in other countries.
“A written question is likely to be clear and precise.”
Lucky added, “While it is not unusual for a jury to ask a question of the court during their deliberations, the procedure adopted by the court ought to ensure that there is no compromise in the integrity of the process to arrive at a verdict.”
The judge recommended a 12-step procedure for judges to adopt and reminded of the six-step process for police to adopt in verification exercises.
“The conduct of a verification exercise must not compromise fairness to the suspect/accused especially since the process is a last resort and limited to instances of recognition.
“There are certain fundamental steps that must be followed should a verification exercise be adopted.”
The judges also declined to apply the proviso in Polo’s case by dismissing the appeal even if there was some form of error at the trial because of the “material errors” in the case.
“This is not a proper case for the application of the proviso. I am not satisfied that the jury, properly directed, would, without doubt, have convicted Travis Polo upon consideration of th
