7 News Belize

How Do You Arraign so Many?
posted (August 5, 2014)
When the Mayor left the court house that was close to midday, the workers waited for another 3 hours before the Magistrate's Court could accommodate them. In total, 41 were jointly charged with taking part in an unlawful meeting under the Public Meeting and Public Procession Act.

They were jointly charged, which means that they all have to be arraigned together to follow proper procedures of the court. But, there is no court big enough to accommodate 41 defendants in one arraignment. That's what caused the delay, and the attorney for the BML workers explained more to us this evening:

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Attorney
"We waited all morning. We are here from 9am. At 10am I was informed that they can't find a courtroom big enough and that the persecution was advised to split the charges, so we stayed here until midday, I kept hoping that we would have started some of them since they were splitting the charges. I was told at that point that they had done 15 charge sheets, so I said can we start the 15, but then the inspector told me no, we have to wait until two o' clock to come back at two and we will do all 41. At two o'clock I called again and they said that they have only completed 22 charge sheets, I said no problem we will do the 22. However, when we came and they started the arraignment process I realized they never brought new charge sheets, they did new court books which are different. My clients cannot be charged under the old charge sheet if they want to split up the charges, if they do the old charge sheet everybody has to be in the same room, but that's not what they want to do. Somewhere along the line they faulted and did not create the new charge sheets or they created it and left it at the police station so we are here waiting for it. Right now all the gentlemen and women are being placed in different court rooms so we have Anthony Sylvester assisting and Kareem Musa assisting and myself because I can't be in three courtrooms at the same time. But fortunately we were able to stand down all the matters right now because we are waiting for the charge sheets to arrive."

"If they don't arrive then the people are on police bail and they will have to come back tomorrow, but for now we know that 22 will be process and the remainder will have to come tomorrow. So it's going to be a third day of this circus that's going on because that's what it has amounted to now."

Reporter
"Did they give you a reason for the delay or what causing the problem?"

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Attorney
"Honestly, the only explanation I have is that the police are overworked and I could appreciate it because after spending the entire day at the police station yesterday and seeing all the paperwork that these police officers have to put in to get a charge sheet prepared - I sympathized with them and amidst all of that they have to be doing every other work assigned to them. So it's very difficult for them and it's not making excuse for them, its dealing with the reality that we have limited resources and the limited resources we have we are pushing it to the limit because someone decides that they must charge 41 workers fighting to get their monies - that's how as simple as it is."

Geovannie Brackett
"But would you agree that this could have been dealt in a more amicable way?"

Audrey Matura-Shepherd - Attorney
"Of course it can, but I don't think that the people involved want any want amicable solution. You have to understand what's happening here you know, these are BML workers, the longer you keep them in the system they can't work, that means less productivity in the company, this means less work for the company, the company is losing and if they have to come back again tomorrow it's a third day of lost for them. So you have to understand that this is a tactic to intimidate people from not taking to the streets and it is tactic of going after a company who you clearly have a fight. Amidst all of that I say the elephants are fighting and the grass are being trampled on - the grass are my clients."

22 of the 41 BML workers were arraigned before 3 separate magistrates, and they were all granted bail.

In addition to that charge, which they pleaded not guilty to, they were all fined $500 for the charge of littering, which they have 15 days to pay. They didn't have to be arraigned for that charge because it is treated kind of like a traffic ticket. If they default, there is an additional late fee of $130, and $30 for each day beyond the deadline.

Importantly, the workers have been granted a permit to have legal protests on Thursday and Friday.

And as we told you last night, PUP media personality Albert Vaughan, was detained by police while the BML workers were protesting yesterday. He claims that he was unfairly targeted by police because he was doing his job of taking pictures for the Belize Times Newspaper. Today, at court, he told us that the officers unfairly charged him for loitering,

Albert Vaughan
"I came out there to do my work as a reporter for the Belize Times and Positive Vibes and that's what I was doing when I was hauled across the street by the police and say that I was loitering. No, that is foolishness."

Daniel Ortiz
"We've made to understand that your personal camera the police officers have decided to delete all your pictures. Is that correct and what your reaction to that?"

Albert Vaughan
"Yeah, that is correct and I will see my attorney this morning and whatsoever the procedure is to make a formal complaint. These are pictures that are to go in the Belize Times this weekend. I have no picture to give my editor."

Senior Superintendent Broaster has denied deleting anything off Vaughan's phone or camera. Immediately after his interview with us, Vaughan was called by a police court orderly to be arraigned, but at the advice of his attorney, he refused to present himself for the hearing, because his police bail noted that he was to report to court for the charge of loitering on Thursday, August 8. Immediately, you should recognize that this is an error, because this Thursday is August 7. Vaughan told us that he his attorney is trying to query if it's Thursday or Friday that police want him to report to Magistrate's Court to be arraigned.

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