The impression that most people have of a court is that of a deadly serious place but my six-year experience of working in the Resident Magistrate’s Court does not exactly match that impression.
I have witnessed times when even the RM and lawyers are cracking up with the Police on duty struggling to say “order” amidst his own laughter. A riot. My family, students and close friends know that I am not as serious as I may look.
In this one case. the victim of a knife attack, a countryman, after giving evidence was being cross-examined by the attorney for the defence who kept on badgering the witness with contrary options as to what really happened: “I am suggesting to you…” the lawyer kept on saying. The countryman was visibly annoyed and began turning his side to the lawyer then in disgust he turned his back to the lawyer and the RM sternly instructed him to face the lawyer and respond to the suggestions being put to him.
When he turned around he faced the RM and said “Mirannah beg yu taak to da lawyer ya yu nuh cause mi nuh waan rude to him.” Then turning to face the lawyer he politely asked “Beg paadn please Lawyer on di day in question where was you?” and proceeded to fold his arms and looked away while all of us Including the defence lawyer were laughing like crazy. “Order in the court” was what the laughing policeman tried to say but no one took him seriously for a good few minutes.
Another corker involving missing ganja exhibit, with the late Hon. Boyd Carey on the bench, I recall as if it were last week. The case had been adjourned a few times because the exhibit was not in court. The police in charge of the store had been mandated to appear with the ganja in question but appeared in the witness box minus the exhibit. Mr. Carey was curt in asking him for the exhibit to which the policeman mumbled “Your honour the exhibit is not available because the store has ratbats in there and one of them apparently ate the ganja.” Airtight explanation right? Wrong. Listen to the RM.
“Officer, my wife is a Botanist and she tells me that ratbats can’t digest ganja so you go and find the guilty ratbat cut it open and bring the ganja to court at the next court date or else…” The policeman tun fool in the witness box while even his police friends and all others were laughing at his plight.
So, one day a gentleman came with a young boy in tow to take out summons for someone who had used indecent language to him. After I had written up the basic information on the standard form I spun it around and slid it under the grill for him to sign at the bottom of the form, He promptly placed the form before the boy. I told him that the boy cannot sign for him and repositioned the form before him. He again put it before the boy and again I put it before him.
He again put it before the boy and explained “Him young mek him ketch him practice him haffi learn”. That exchange between us went on for a couple minutes until I sternly informed him that since it was he and not the boy making the allegation, he had to sign the form. My man with his head on his arms on the counter, buss out wan bawl and blurted out “Jeezas Chrais sum parents cyan wicked sah, nuh sen dem pickney go a school.” While stifling a laugh I asked him if he could make an X and he could, so the saga came to an end.
Now this last one, I read about in a Barbados newspaper. This lady was appearing before a Judge for the fifth time as the complainant in a rape case, so in puzzlement the Judge innocently asked: “Ma’am, how is it that you end up before me so many times as the complainant in a rape case. How?”
She said: “Well, your Honour, you have to understand, I does rape easy!” Mmh, mystery solved!