Hopefully,
many in society would never know how it feels to be jailed or remanded. Simply
put, the system is that the police, with some evidence, accuses a person of a
crime and must detain or place in custody this person while, gathering more
evidence and presenting it to a judge. Place in front of a judge, the court can
free the person based on insufficient evidence or issue an order of detention
or remand while, further tracing is done or until the case is called. In the
meantime, held in custody in a jail, a person must learn and know their legal
rights or get loss in the system.
Held
in Custody and Detention, accused of stabbing and killing ten young
children or of not paying child support, both persons are held in and under the
same conditions, getting to know each other. The police, on the case, with
enough evidence is in contact with the District Public Prosecutor (DPP) to
issue an arrest warrant. The arresting officer detains the accused person and
with or without the DPP, informs the court or files the case. The arrested
person is confined to a cell or, more than likely overnight, is transported,
under guard, to a larger holding facility or detention or remand yard, where
this person will stay until a preliminary inquiry is convene.
Local
Community Jails designed and constructed to hold twenty detainees,
can easily become overpopulated, if tracing or court scheduling takes a long
time. But in a remand yard, the accused and arrested person can be easily
misfiled am thousands of persons, remembering that this person has not been
legally remanded by a judge. Such an uninformed prisoner, with no family and
friends notified, is a prime candidate for abuse by both the system and other
inmates. Hence, it is and should be the nation’s responsibility to appoint and
notify a listed lawyer upon arrest or suffer an appropriate penalty.
Mandatory
Basic Education as to the rights of an accused should be read and
presented upon an arrest by the police, or if not, the case must be
discontinued. Represented by a lawyer, privately or publicly paid, offers a
better chance of getting bail, brings the matter higher on the court’s docket
and decreases the time spent in a crowded facility without charge or plea. The
age and mental capacity of the accused must matter, in any questioning or
statements made to the police, without the assigned lawyer present. Henceforth,
no person, no matter their economic status, can be arrested without qualified
legal representation in attendance.
The
Preliminary Inquiry Courts are best served if the accused and
arrested can be brought in front of a judge immediately as detain. A speedy
case brought to the courts can result in a freed defendant, a guilty person;
paying a fine and being quickly released or being held over or legally remanded
for trial. The evidence being presented in a preliminary inquiry by the
arresting police officer or the DPP, along with the accused plea of Guilty or
Not Guilty, will determine the court’s decision and bail, if applicable. Hence,
the call for online courts, via telecommunication devices, connecting police
station’s jails and other detention centers to a scheduled judge, for prompt
justice.
Rationale
T.A.J &
Associates Company Limited uses this occasion
to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically and by the
mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment opportunity, not
to invoke any social action.
