Judiciary to investigate Magistrate’s Court party

Judiciary to investigate Magistrate’s Court party
Chief Justice Brian Moree

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Office of the Judiciary has launched an internal investigation after a viral video recording depicted several people partying in a courtroom at the Magistrates Court complex.

In the clip, several people can be see drinking and dancing to loud music without facial masks or adequate social distancing.

Chief Justice Brian Moree confirmed while some of the individuals who appear in the recording are court staff, others do not appear to be employed by the Judiciary.

“The scenes shown on the video do not reflect the standards and professionalism of the members of the Court staff in discharging their duties to the public,” Moree said in a statement.

“We are cognizant of the importance of preserving the decorum of court buildings and the dignity and fairness of all court proceedings. For these reasons, we regard the incident shown on the video as a serious matter which requires our urgent attention and action consistent with maintaining public confidence in the administration of justice.”

According to Moree, the event is alleged to have taken place last Thursday.

“In response to this, we wish to advise that an internal enquiry into this incident has been launched to determine what actually occurred in the Magistrates Court building, and the facts and circumstances surrounding the events which are partially captured on the video,” his statement continued.

“Appropriate action will be taken in line with the conclusions of the enquiry.

“It is apparent that the individuals in the video are not wearing facial masks and are not complying with the physical distancing requirements. Some of the persons who can be seen on the video appear to be members of the court staff while others do not appear to be employed by the Judiciary.

Moree added: “Within the Judiciary, our diligent efforts to reform and modernize the Court system in The Bahamas will continue. We trust that the results of our endeavours will become apparent to the Bahamian public over the next three to six months as we execute a series of new initiatives in the delivery of justice to all persons in The Bahamas.”