The Editor, Sir:
It is unfortunate that Marlene Malahoo Forte, a very promising young lawyer turned magistrate, has chosen words likely to broadbrush her entire profession as 'hustlers', due to her impatience with the behaviour of a few.
She needs to be careful how she says what she says, lest her no doubt well-intentioned intervention should backfire by way of an undeserved loss of confidence in a vital part of the system of justice. The system is already in enough trouble without the need for further unnecessary denigration. Lawyers could easily refer to some judges as 'lazy' or 'incompetent' (or worse) for frequently shifting work; being too eager to grant adjournments; and giving knee-jerk or irrational decisions; but to what end?
Any lawyer who is aggrieved by a decision of any judge or magistrate knows where the Court of Appeal is. Similarly, any magistrate who believes that a lawyer's 'hustling' is the root cause of attempted delays ought to know what to do. Lawyers can only make submissions. It is judges (and magistrates) who decide the course of any matter.
And I think the public needs to understand that the majority of lawyers who appear to be 'hustlers' are nothing of the kind. The profession is like any other, and is not immune from hustlers any more than are the medical or other professions. But, lawyers have an additional difficulty.
Inconveniences
It is easy to pontificate from the safety of a seat on the bench where the receipt of a government-guaranteed monthly cheque is certain. Lawyers have inconveniences called expenses. And an obligation to represent all who come before them with their liberty threatened, regardless of ability to pay.
For every pro bono case taken on by an overworked criminal defence attorney, two more 'paying customers' must be found. This is not 'hustling'. It is national service mixed with a sharp dose of reality - an experience not often shared by members of the judiciary.
I am, etc.,
GORDON ROBINSON
gordon_robinson@flowja.com
69 Lady Musgrave Road
Kingston 10
Via Go-Jamaica
