Appropriate court cases to be live-streamed on YouTube

IN AN effort to increase openness and transparency, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, says appropriate court cases will be live-streamed on the Jamaican Judiciary’s YouTube channel.

Addressing Thursday’s swearing-in ceremony at King’s House for two members of the judiciary to higher office for the Easter Term, Sykes disclosed that the Court of Appeal had its first full broadcast in March.

The sitting had nine judges in the case of Cecil Moore v. R, which decided an important point concerning sentencing, mandatory minimums and the constitution.

“Going forward, we will be live-streaming appropriate cases. We want to do that both in the trial courts and in the appellate courts. It’s easier to do in the appellate courts. But we also want to extend that to the first instance courts as a part of public education generally and actually letting people see what happens in a court, and also reinforcing the right of access to the courts,” Sykes explained.

Effective April 7, the judiciary implemented a new security policy for entry into the Supreme Court (Public Building East).

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The measures were instituted to enhance the safety and security of all court users and staff.

Among them are security screening, which will commence at 9 a.m. daily, and the issuance of colour-coded passes corresponding with specific floors, restricting movement within the building.

If a visitor needs access to multiple floors, they must obtain a new pass from the designated issuing point.

“We have put in place security measures, which you might have seen some articles in the newspapers, that people are complaining about. But one way of managing it is to have greater access via the YouTube facility in appropriate cases,” Justice Sykes stated.

Cases are live streamed at https://www.youtube.com/@jamaicanjudiciary3412.