High Court judge rejects DPP’s bid to remove her from Haresh Singh’s murder trial

(Kaieteur News) – High Court Judge Priscilla Chandra-Hanif has refused an application by the State seeking her recusal from the Haresh Singh murder case involving Joel Gittens, Charles Scott, and Glaston Henry. The prosecution’s application arose primarily from her August 24, 2026 ruling granting severance of trials. The State contended that a fair-minded and informed observer would conclude there was a real possibility of apparent bias, arguing that her characterization of the evidence and case-management decisions gave the appearance that issues reserved for trial had been prejudged.

Addressing the legal standard for recusal, Justice Chandra-Hanif noted that “a judge needs to be firm-minded in recusing himself or herself where there is an objection of substance and in not recusing himself where the objection is fanciful”. She highlighted the fundamental distinction between the role of a judge and that of a jury, ruling that “in a jury trial the judge determines questions of law and admissibility; the jury determines disputed facts, credibility and guilt”. The judge emphasised that examining the evidential landscape for a severance application does not constitute a finding of guilt, as “the ultimate determination of the facts, the credibility and reliability of the witnesses, the weight to be attached to the admissible evidence, and ultimately whether the prosecution has proved the guilt of each accused beyond reasonable doubt are matters exclusively for the jury”.

The judge further clarified that mere disagreement with a legal ruling or case-management decision cannot be converted into an inference of partiality, stating that “an alleged legal error does not morph into or constitute apparent bias”. Citing established regional jurisprudence, the Judge reiterated that “judicial officers do not too readily accede to suggestions of apparent bias encouraging parties to believe that they will have their case tried by someone thought to be more likely to decide the case in their favour”. Having found that the high threshold for demonstrating apparent bias was not met, Justice Chandra-Hanif formally dismissed the State’s application, allowing the proceedings to continue before her for the accused men who have been awaiting trial since September 2020.