Chief Justice shops reforms to boost criminal law practice

More funding for legal aid and a possible Public Defender’s Office are among reforms Chief Justice Leslie Haynes has proposed to tackle a shrinking pool of attorneys practising criminal law in Barbados.

Saying the shortage could not be addressed simply by encouraging more attorneys to enter the criminal bar, Haynes argued that institutional changes were needed to make criminal practice more attractive to younger lawyers.

One option, he suggested, was increased funding for the Community Legal Services Department, better known as Legal Aid, to allow younger and less experienced attorneys to work on less serious criminal cases and gain the experience needed to eventually handle more serious cases.