THE CONTROVERSY OVER EXTRADITION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 002292

SIPDIS

STATE FOR INL/LP (BOZZOLO),WHA/CAR (BENT)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2014
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR KCRM JM
SUBJECT: THE CONTROVERSY OVER EXTRADITION


Classified By: Charge Ronald S. Robinson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (C) On October 3, NAS Director spoke with the Legal
advisor to the Minister of Justice, Dr. Stephen Vasciannie
and Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Carol Palmer
regarding reports that the GOJ is preparing to move
extradition cases from the Resident Magistrate Court (RMC) to
the Supreme Court. Palmer confirmed that that GOJ is
exploring the possibility because defense attorneys are using
loopholes in the system to delay the extradition process. On
September 11, Minister of Justice, A. J. Nicholson sternly
responded to a call from defense attorneys and other
detractors for the revision of the Extradition Act and
Jamaica's Extradition Treaty with the U.S., stating in part
that Jamaican authorities remain resolute in the fight
against illegal drugs, and the GOJ will continue to cooperate
in extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries.
End Summary.


2. (C) On October 3, NAS Director spoke with the Legal
advisor to the Minister of Justice, Dr. Stephen Vasciannie
and Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Carol Palmer
regarding reports that the GOJ is preparing to move
extradition cases from the Resident Magistrate court (RMC) to
the Supreme Court. Palmer confirmed that that GOJ is
exploring the possibility because defense attorneys are using
loopholes in the system to delay the extradition process. On
September 11, Minister of Justice, A. J. Nicholson sternly
responded to a call from defense attorneys and other
detractors for the revision of the Extradition Act and
Jamaica's Extradition Treaty with the U.S., stating in part
that Jamaican authorities remain resolute in the fight
against illegal drugs, and the GOJ will continue to cooperate
in extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries.


3. (C) Palmer stated that the Ministry of Justice is in the
"preliminary exploratory" stages and has just begun the
research into what moving extradition cases from the RMC to
the Supreme Court will entail. She also noted that if
extradition matters were moved to the Supreme Court, there
would be quicker decisions, which will benefit all parties
involved. She stated that historically there have not been
many extradition cases so this move should not have a
negative effect on the workload of the Supreme Court.
Corroborating Palmer's statement, Vasciannie stated that the
decision was made not because cases are being held up by the
court system, but by clever defense attorneys using an
outdated court system to delay the extradition of their
clients.


4. (C) Vasciannie explained that the GOJ is exploring an
alternative means of handling extradition cases in which a
defendant that is subject to the possibility of extradition,
has recourse to two different appeal processes. In
describing the current system, Vasciannie stated that both
the Supreme Court and RMC have unlimited jurisdiction, which
means that there will not be substantive changes to the
rights of defendants. Currently, defendants are allowed to
appeal a decision to extradite by the RMC to the Supreme
Court. Once that decision is handed down, the case goes back
to the RMC. He noted that what has become popular is for
defendants to also claim that an affirmtive decision to
extradite violates their constitutional rights and they file
a second motion with the Supreme Court. In the new,
streamlined process, instead of having to go the RMC first,
cases go straight to the Supreme Court where the general
issue of extradition is heard as well as any constitutional
motions. If a defendant loses the motions at the Supreme
Court level, then he is allowed to bring a final motion to
the Court of Appeal, the court of last resort, and that
court's decision is final.


5. (C) Both Palmer and Vasciannie reiterated that this
process is only in the exploratory stage and stated that in
order to change the way extradition cases are handled, the
Extradition Act would have to be amended. While there is no
timeline for this, Palmer stated that the Minister of Justice
would like to have the new process finalized before the end
of the year. Vasciannie added, "the Minister of Justice
would want him to note that the streamlining of extradition
cases would also enhance the cooperation between the GOJ and
the U.S."

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Extradition Act Unconstitutional
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6. (C) There currently are two U.S. designated "Drug
Kingpins" awaiting extradition hearings, Leebert Ramcharan
and Norris "Dedo" Nembhard. Both defendants' attorneys have
claimed that the Extradition Act is unconstitutional and that
their clients cannot be assured of a fair trial if extradited
to the U.S. due to their designation on the U.S. drug kingpin
list. Defense attorneys and other critics have also claimed
that the kingpin designation is inconsistent with principles
of justice and the rule of law and may prejudice the right to
a fair trial by virtue of its impact on public opinion in the
U.S.


7. (C) On September 11, Minister of Justice A. J. Nicholson
responded to these allegations by stating that "the courts in
the U.S. are usually sensitive to the effect of prejudicial,
pre-trial publicity on the rights of the accused, and so,
have in place safeguards to ensure that the selection of
jurors in cases concerning alleged drug kingpins does not
allow for undue influence among persons selected for jury
duty in these cases." Nicholson added that there may
conceivably be cases in which persons in the U.S. are aware
of the drug kingpin designation, and may find themselves a
juror in one of these cases. If this were to happen,
Nicholson argued that jurors would be obliged to disregard
the designation and to pay attention only to the evidence
presented in the case. Nicholson stated that Jamaican
authorities remain resolute in the fight against illegal
drugs, and that the GOJ will continue to cooperate in
extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries.


8. (C) On September 9, NAS Director met with the Acting
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) Donald Bryan.
Bryan stated that the repetitive arguments that the
Extradition Act is unconstitutional and that Jamaica's
Extradition Treaty with the U.S. needs to be revised, are an
effort to gain public sympathy for those accused. He
further stated that the DPP's office does not foresee any
changes to the Extradition Act based on the arguments of
critics. Crown Council Jeremy Taylor advised on October 4
that a ruling on Ramcharan's motion that the "Kingpin"
designation is unconstitutional will be given on October 6.
Taylor stated that he expects the ruling will not be in
Ramcharan's favor and that Ramcharan's attorneys will
probably then file a motion with the Court of Appeal.


9. (C) Comment: The Embassy enjoys good cooperation with the
GOJ on extradition matters. The decision to streamline the
extradition process is a welcome development but will come
with a good amount of protest from defense attorneys and
other detractors. To no one's surprise, Jamaica's suspected
drug king pins are able to afford the country's top defense
attorneys to exploit any weakness in the case against their
clients. An affirmative outcome to the high profile
extradition cases of U.S. drug designated kingpins Leebert
Ramcharan and Norris "Dedo" Nembhard will undoubtedly send a
shockwave through Jamaica as these cases will set a precedent
for others. Post will continue to monitor and report on
developments on extradition matters. End Comment.
ROBINSON