After months of back and forth in the Supreme Court, Belize City resident Allyson Major Sr. finally got his first day in court after deciding to challenge the Attorney General and the Police Department on the gun laws. He's seeking an award of damages for the ordeal he experienced when he was wrongfully accused of being in possession of a weapon.
Major is trying to get the Supreme Court to pronounce once and for all if the Amendments to the Firearm Act, and the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Act are unjust and unconstitutional.
His attorney, Anthony Sylvestre, was the first to make his case before Justice Michelle Arana, and after he presented a few hours of legal arguments, we asked him to summarize outside of court. He explained that the law shifts that under these gun laws, the burden of proof is shifted from the state to the accused, which violates the constitutional rights of all persons charged under the law:
Anthony Sylvestre - Attorney for Allyson Major
"Grandmothers, children, fathers, mothers, and daughters are carted off to prison for no reason - for the fact that they may have some association to a particular premises through no fault of their own. In the case of Mr. Major has become even more absurd. He was arrested and charged on the 18th of April 2012 for being in possession of a firearm and ammunition, when a day earlier persons who were found at the premises were arrested and charged. Five persons were arrested and charged, they were taken to court later that day on the 17th of April and one of them pleaded guilty for the offense. Mr. Major was arrested after someone was already taken to court and plead guilty. He was arrested on the basis that he is said to have had a relationship with someone who lives at the house and on that basis alone. We are in court making principally 2 arguments, they are very detailed and lengthy arguments but they're substance are very brief. One that is right is constitutional right, not to be arrested, not to be detained and not to lose his freedom unless there is reasonable suspicion. That right was violated, there was no reasonable suspicion for this man to have been arrested and detained and carted off for to prison for 38 days. We've also challenged in his right to be presume innocent. The law under consideration, also makes it mandatory that look, in addition to deeming you to be in possession of illegal firearm and ammunition, you have to now go to a court and prove your innocence. So Major went through a full trial, he was able to be acquitted but a citizen should not be put through that where they would have to obtain the service of an attorney. because as you know, a lay person having to go through a trial on his or her own may not be able to put forward the necessary evidence, asked the necessary questions to be able to establish certain things."
The case continues tomorrow where Deputy Solicitor General Nigel Hawke will get an opportunity to present the State's case against Major's Claim.
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