Govt moves to speed up criminal case preparation – Lashley

The government is scanning station diaries and medical journals to give digital disclosure to defence lawyers and the courts as it seeks to speed up the movement of criminal cases through the courts, Minister of Legal Affairs and Criminal Justice Michael Lashley has told Barbados TODAY.

“Right now all of the station diaries and public medical journals are being scanned so these can be delivered by way of a digital platform to defence lawyers and to the court,” Lashley said, adding that the next step is to move towards a paperless system that could help the courts process cases more efficiently.

Lashley said consideration could also be given to using former police officers and other civilians with experience in preparing files and statements, allowing serving officers to focus less on administrative tasks.