Attorneys have been given more time in which to file affidavits when the appeal, brought by Government against a judge’s decision which ruled that the amendment to the Bail Act was unconstitutional, was heard in the Court of Appeal yesterday.
The matter will now be heard later in the year.
It was in 2019 that Attorney General Dale Marshall piloted the amendment to the Bail Act which stipulated that a person charged with murder, treason or offences under the Firearms Act shall not be granted bail until a period of 24 months had passed, unless the accused fell into certain exception categories.
Those exceptions were if a person was a lawman or anyone who committed an act while carrying out his official duties; if the person was acting in self-defence or if the strength of the evidence suggested the accused did not carry out the offence.
However, Senior Counsel Larry Smith brought a constitutional motion on behalf of accused Lamar Antonio Jones, challenging the validity of that amendment. (HLE)