Sykes again makes case for judge-alone trials

MONTEGO BAY, St James — Citing a far-advanced case — during the last circuit within the western end of the country— in which the jury had to be discharged, Chief Justice Bryan Sykes has again called for serious consideration to be given to judge-alone trials.

“After four weeks of trial, that was it. It was just waiting for addresses and the summation to be done [but] the jury had to be discharged,” he said during the 2026 Legal Year Western Region Assize Church Service at the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists in Mount Salem, St James, on Saturday.

In cases where juries are discharged Sykes’s preference is for the judge to then give a final verdict instead of having the matter drag on. He has consistently advocated for judge-alone trials in a bid to reduce case backlog and ensure that everyone accused of a crime is granted their constitutional right to a fair trial within a reasonable time. During the weekend church service he spoke of how a reliance on jury trials has impacted St James, particularly in relation to murder cases.