Bahamas judiciary relaunches digital court reporting system

By LEANDRA ROLLE Tribune Staff Reporter lrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas judiciary officially relaunched its digital court reporting system on Friday.

During a ceremony to mark the system’s relaunch, Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder said the digital platform is extremely beneficial because it increases the court’s reporting capacity so matters can move through the justice system more quickly.

“We have 29 court reporters. They have not been an easy resource to secure in The Bahamas,” he said.

“Our reality, therefore, has been that due to the limited numbers of court reporters, there has been no court reporting in the Magistrate’s Court except in special circumstances and civil court reporters are accommodated only where there is availability.”

“Additionally, because of the scarcity, there are understandably delays on getting transcripts returned to judicial officers and to the appellate court.”

But, with the FTR system, Justice Winder said some of the judiciary’s needs will finally be addressed.

“In the age of transparency and accountability an accurate record of the proceedings before the court ought to be a right not a matter of chance,” the chief justice added.

“Whether for use on appeal, or for judicial officers deliberating on the evidence presented or some submissions made by counsel, the judge is better aided by the verbatim account rather than his handwritten summary of the proceedings taken as the matter progressed.”

The digital system was first rolled out in the courts in 2015 but was met with “limited success.”

Justice Winder said there were lessons learned from that experience.

“We have been deliberate in this relaunch,” he continued.

“For the past two weeks, experts have been in our courts in New Providence, Grand Bahama and Abaco conducting training for staff and judicial officers on the operation of the digital court reporting system. There’s also been training with the Bar association.”

And according to

Justice Winder, “all but five civil courts” have been outfitted with the equipment needed to support the digital system.

Some of the aspects of the system include a speech to text feature, among other things.

“We hope that by the end of the summer all of our courts will have the capacity to capture an audio record of the proceedings,” the chief justice added.

“None of this would be possible without the support of our friends and partners at the United States Embassy in Nassau through the Caribbean Anti-Crime Programme … The partnership and support involved not only the technical support, in the outfitting of many of the courts with the FTR systems, but as indicated it involved the provision of expert advice and a significant training component.”

On Friday, Justice Winder also foreshadowed the coming of the long-awaited bail management system which he said is in the final stages of implementation.

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

TWO male juveniles were granted bail after being accused of assaulting a man with a handgun in Nassau last week.

The two 16 year olds, whose names are being withheld because they are minors, faced Senior Magistrate Carolyn VogtEvans on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

It is alleged that around 6pm on April 17 at Kool

By PAVEL BAILEY Tribune Court Reporter pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A MAN was granted bail on Friday after being accused in a carjacking in New Providence earlier this month.

Trent Saunders, 28, stood before Assistant Chief Magistrate Subusola Swain on charges of stealing and receiving.

Air Sub in the Haitian Village the teenagers assaulted Alex Ovilma with a handgun. They both pleaded not guilty to the offence. Each was granted $5,000 bail. Under the conditions of this bail the two are expected to sign in at Elizabeth Estates Police Station on Sundays by 7pm. They are further expected to be fitted with Electronic Monitoring devices and to obey a 8pm to 8am daily curfew. Their trial is set to begin on September 21.

It is alleged that on April 14 Saunders stole a black 2009 Honda Accord belonging to Simone Joseph. This vehicle was valued at $3,000.

Before the magistrate, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. He was granted $5,000 bail with one surety. His trial will begin on June 26.