Chief Justice Explains
Bail Procedure in
Sunday Court Hearing
Up Front
Chief Justice Explains
Bail Procedure in
Sunday Court Hearing
Hon. Justice HenryGraham
Mr. Graham Hampson
A 26 year-old woman on Monday, 20 Marchwas sentenced to a total fine of $2000 after pleading guilty totwo counts of making false representation, one of making a falsestatement and one of illegally landing in the Cayman Islands.She was fined $500 for each charge. Following, her convictionon Monday, she left the Cayman Islands reportedly on a charteredjet that same day.
The woman, Kerri Ann Havick-Velasquez wasarrested by Immigration authorities the previous Friday, 16thMarch at the airport when she tried to leave the Cayman Islands.She admitted to using a friend's driver's license and birth certificateto gain entry into the Cayman Islands on March 8th. Her friend'sname was Amanda Vesely. Ms Velasquez also had in her possessiona Kansas State University student I.D. card bearing her photographbut with the name of Amanda Vesely.
Ms Velasquez was denied bail by ImmigrationAuthorities on the Friday and Saturday preceding her trial andremanded at Central Police Station as is usual with such casesinvolving foreign nationals. The Immigration department had intendedto bring her to court to lay charges on the following Monday.In what has been considered as an unusual course of events inthe Cayman Islands jurisdiction, however, Grand Court JusticeHenry Graham granted her bail on the Sunday afternoon.
According to sources, Ms Velasquez' attorney,Mr. Graham Hampson, the bail was granted following the completionof a Habeas (Hay-be-us) Corpus hearing. He said that: "hecalled Mr. Justice Graham on Sunday and asked him to consideran urgent hearing on Ms. Velasquez' liberty. Justice Graham grantedthe request and directed Immigration authorities, along with MsVelasquez to appear before him in Chambers at one o'clock on Sundayafternoon. Following the hearing she was granted bail in her ownrecognizance of $3000. A male person, who gave his address asthe Hyatt Regency hotel was also asked to sign a recognizancebond in the amount of $5,000 and Ms. Velasquez was to stay underhis supervision until her appearance in court."
The hearing was conducted in the presenceof a representative from the Immigration department, however,without any representation from Government's legal department.Attorney Mr. Hampson said that the legal department was notifiedprior to the hearing on Sunday.
Following inquiries by Cayman Net News intothis matter, through a statement issued by Government InformationService (GIS), Chief Justice, the Hon. Anthony Smellie, said thatthe law allows a court or police officer to hold a bail hearingon Sunday if the situation so determines.
According to the Bail Law (1997 Revision),a court or police officer that is considering a bail applicationmay take into consideration, amongst other things, the natureand seriousness of the offense that is lodged against a person.
Based on that section of the law, it wasappropriate for the Hon. Justice Henry Graham to convene a hearingin his chambers on a Sunday, during which bail was granted toMs. Kerri Ann Havick, said the Chief Justice.
"Judges have a duty to ensure thatpersons are not needlessly deprived of their liberty," heemphasises. "Furthermore, the law presumes that bail shouldbe granted unless the circumstances of the offence dictate otherwise.
"In Ms Havick's case, the charges againsther did not suggest that imprisonment would be the appropriatepenalty. A bail application was therefore held on Sunday."
The following account was provided to theChief Justice by Mr. Justice Graham, the Judge who heard the application:
On Sunday, 18 March Ms Havick was in custody,charged with using false identity papers to enter the Cayman Islands.Her attorney contacted Mr. Justice Graham at 10:15 a.m. to requestan urgent bail application, and the matter was heard in Mr. Graham'schambers at noon.
The attorney also contacted the Legal Departmentin order that a representative could be present during the application,but reported to the Judge that the department did not wish toappear, as it was "an Immigration matter."
However, the Immigration Department didsend the investigating officer to appear during the proceedings.
Ms Havick conceded that she used false identitypapers to enter Cayman. "Her pretext was that her ex-husband,a co-worker, could not accept the fact that she had divorced him,"said Mr. Justice Graham.
"Those facts were confirmed by heremployer, who happened to be on the Islands at the time the accusedvisited."
The judge concluded that the defendant hadcommitted at least two offences, but that the likely outcome wasa financial one, rather than imprisonment.
Bail was therefore granted, and Ms Havickwas ordered to appear before Mr. Justice Graham at 2:00 p.m. thefollowing day (Monday, 19 March), to determine for what she wouldbe prosecuted. Substantial sureties were imposed on both the accusedand her employer, who was to keep her under his custody untilher hearing. The employer was presented as someone having assetswithin or available to him in the Cayman Islands.
Ms Havick appeared in court on Monday; theCrown, represented by Senior Crown Counsel Adam Roberts, informedMr. Justice Graham that she was likely to be charged with twooffences. The case was set, with the agreement of the prosecution,to appear before a magistrate that afternoon, who at that timefined Ms Havick for the two offences. The fines were paid.
Commenting further on the case, the ChiefJustice emphasised that: "Mr. Justice Graham's response wasentirely appropriate in recognising as it did the importance ofthe liberty of persons who are subject to the rule of law.
"As the results of the case show, hewas correct in his assessment of the case as one that would notrequire a sentence of imprisonment of any period whatsoever, butwas instead one to be properly dealt with by way of fine."