Fr. Mark Kendall calls on all Actors in the Judicial System to Do Better

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, January 20, 2024 – “I say to you—   as a representative of the people of the Turks and Caicos, for those who may not have a voice and those who are in prison on remand. Court dates ought not to be postponed  over and over and cases dragged out by the whim and fancies of counsel,” was the serious warning from Father Mark Kendall as he spoke during the January 4 2024 Legal Year Opening church service held at the St. Monica’s Anglican church in Providenciales.

Fr. Kendall encouraged the gathered judicial officers to address the length of time suspects were spending on remand and several other issues.

“In the book of Ecclesiastes we read in chapter 8 and vs 11 because defense against an evil deed is not executed speedily the human heart is fully set to the evil,” he continued, “ In visiting the prison in the past the inmates invariably complained about their cases taking interminable time to progress.”

“Even worse,” Kendall lamented, “are the incidents of attorneys taking payments but not pressing the matters for which clients have paid,” he said.

Kendall stressed too that the conviction rate was too low locally.

“The correlation between the occurrence of crimes and convictions is lopsided,” he continued “I dare say that national progress in the Turks and Caicos islands is stymied by nepotism, cronyism, and island insularity.”

Both defense lawyers and the prosecution were held responsible for this failing by the church rector.

“It is annoying when defendants get off scot-free because of technicalities in the law or defense attorneys capitalizing on— the law, we see the manipulation of the law making it malleable and docile as necessary to confound the prosecution,”  he claimed.

It must be noted that all defendants under TCI law are innocent until proven guilty and defense attorneys, many of whom offer their services to legal aid, have the overarching responsibility to protect their clients.

The prosecution did not escape unscathed, as Kendall criticized the “insipidness of their preparation,” as part of the low conviction rate.

Fr. Mark Kendall also expressed dismay at the gap operations in the past resulting from inadequate staff.

“Never again must the Turks and Caicos have only two functioning judges,” he said.

Yet, despite these strong warnings, Fr. Kendall, commended the increased number of judicial personnel.

The issues are longtime complaints of residents in relation to the judiciary and were also addressed by Angela Brooks, Acting DPP, who promised fixes for them in the current legal year.

The clergyman also said the government should consider reassessing the monetary allocations given to the judiciary to make sure they are properly funded.

“There must be correlation with regard to the institutions of the country. We are happy individuals can benefit from the economic boom but the institutions must also reflect that they are benefiting.”

Reflecting on the Government’s system of allocation to various arms and departments he said,  “Perhaps it is that some of the agencies that the departments or sectors of the judiciary, and the court system in the Turks and Caicos islands need more.”

Kendall also gave his opinion on the current privately owned buildings that house the various courts, stressing that they should be publicly owned and their security handled by the Office of the Chief Justice.

He warned of  the possible financial ramifications that could occur because of the lack of security regarding members of the bench.

Fr. Kendall’s speech came mere hours before the Chief Justice of the country would make an unprecedented call for more funding and better accommodations for the country’s courts.

Currently in the Turks and Caicos, there is not enough space for all the courts to sit simultaneously without displacing each other. In some cases like Grand Turk, the Magistrate’s court and Supreme Court have to alternate for a shift system which slows down the judicial process.

Citizens of the Turks and Caicos were also called on by Fr. Kendall to stop ‘hiding out’ from jury duty when they were called; he urged citizens to play their part in the execution of Justice.