A Bath Road resident has been fined EC$500.00 for disorderly conduct.
Joel Williams has been told by Magistrate Ossie Lewis that he has until July 31 (2012) to pay the fine.
Williams appeared before the magistrate on Friday morning, charged with disorderly conduct in a public place.
He is to pay the fine by the stipulated deadline or face ten weeks in prison.
Williams was arrested on 7th June at the Newtown bayside after swearing loudly and continuously at a police officer from the area.
“I have my lawyer, I do not care about police!” he shouted using obscene language.
In court the defendant explained that the reason for his conduct was as result of a barricade which he built “by the bay” in Newtown being removed without his consent.
Magistrate Lewis informed the defendant that his conduct was “reprehensible” and warned him against repetition of such behavior.
Deserving of reproof, rebuke, or censure;
blameworthy.. you dig??
i see the law in da is in reverse…….. only the people that gets punish are the ones taking part in petty crimes. $500.00 for cursing? come on DA
Get the soiciety back to decency and order. He must think twice next time he feels like cursing. Well done Ossie!
“I have my lawyer”. These words are used regularly by people who disrespect others and the law. They swear/curse in public with no regards for children, parents or police. “Take them up and let them pay” That is the only way to decrease negative behavior.
The Police represent authority. Therefore they must learn never to swear at the Police and also to resist arrest where applicable. Otherwise they will be charged. His impatience, bad temper and behavior got him into trouble with the Law. I hope that he learned a lesson. It is a lesson for everyone should such a situation, be it a similar one arise.
Who charges the Police when they swear at persons in
the public.It happens all the time ..
who dat swearing more dan police? dey even cursing u while dey arresting u for cursing.lol
IT WAS ABOUT TIME SOME PEOP PAY A MONEY FOR VERBAL ABUSE OF POLICE
Magistrate Ossie Lewis did not think twice about his choice of words. To Ossie, words flow naturally. Perhaps the accused did not understand the meaning of the word “reprehensible” but I am sure he got the message. If the accused looked directly in the eyes of Mr. Lewis, when being admonished, he would have appreciated the sincerity of the magistrate and change his ways whether or not he understood the words used in reprimanding him.
As a young man listening to cricket commentaries over the radio, I remember this intelligent, well-spoken and confident commentator with a booming, clear and capturing voice. I listened attentively to cricket with pen and paper in hand as if I were in a classroom preparing for an English vocabulary lesson. I referred to the commentator as “a walking dictionary.” As a young person, I jealously hoped that I would grow up with the ability to use words like Mr. Lewis. He was and still is a source of inspiration to me.
I have always admired the positive spirit of the man. I have great respect for his professionalism and the sense of fairness with which he conducts his business in the court. He is not just a magistrate but a gentleman. (emphasis on gentle). .
This man is a master at the Queen’s English and the use of language. He is an excellent orator and communicator. I am honoured to take this opportunity via this public medium to give Ossie his dues while he is still with us. I didn’t have the opportunity to tell Don Christopher how I felt about him.
As the Account General, Ossie displayed courage in telling it as he saw it from his professional eye. He displayed a high level of integrity in his work- a level that the present AGs (take your pick Attorney General or Accountant General) can only dream of measuring up to. This man pursued studies in law in his 50’s. He did extremely well- from all reports far better than the former AG (Attorney General) currently Minister of Tourism while at Law School. This has further inspired me in preparation for my early retirement. This magistrate has and continues to make a significant contribution to Dominica’s development.
This magistrate is an inspiration to the young and old in Dominica. By the way, I also understand that he is a great singer and will be performing on stage too. Well done Ossie!!!
a lot of them need to go done that road . they a taking our beautiful country like it is northing . they dont care who or what is there i would ask him money and still send him to gail . good job officer keep up the good works and continue to bring them in and our country will be a better place
this will only teach us a lesson. all food good to eat but not everything should be said
They should charge people at the Airport for that too. Our Airport needs order too, anybody can go Melville Hall and curse at Airline counters and are not fined.
We need it at the Airport.
ca mwe ka tan la na
Ha ha ha ha.
you think the man know what reprehensible mean lol
lol i agree lol
What he mean by that big word nuh “reprehensible”
Big words break man’s jawbone. Reprehensible means “deserving blame” or ‘blameworthy’.
@ Sakway
You made me laugh.
You could look it up in the dictionary or Thesaurus. No problem! It means, guilty, in the wrong, liable, at fault, to be blamed.
The magistrate could have used one of these words. As I stated, he did not give it a thought.
THAT MNEANS PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE JACKASSES, HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO BUT WRITE THOSE SILLY COMMENTS.
Not like dem man does go court n listen to dem judge anyway… all they maybe hear is how much to pay or how much time
@ $4
If he did not know the word, he at least partially learned it. If he has a good memory he should remember that word and jut it down for future reference.
I wonder?
However, there are times we find it necessary to use them. We must meet people at their level of understanding. Hope someone or a few learn from this.
I do agree the magistrate should have used a word that the man could understand. At the time, he did not give it a thought.
This reminds me what someone informed me when I resided in DA. This occurred years ago. A man was before the magistrate for either assaulting someone or stealing. The Judge said to him: “Tell me, ‘approximately’ what happened; how many people were present.” The man responded in patois, “The Judge is lying. ‘Approximately’ was not there at all.”
I read the following in a newspaper some years ago. It is a joke but has some meaning to it. A janitor of a school went to the bank. The banker gave the janitor this advice: “Live off your interest and leave the ‘principle’ alone.” Later, the ‘principal’ of the school observed the janitor was ignoring him. He said, “Is it my imagination or is Mr… ignoring me?” He asked the janitor about it. The janitor told the principal what he was told by the banker.
They do have to be careful what they say to those who do not comprehend those big words and financial terms.
I recall a directive was circulated to staff about using those big words that some people are not able to comprehend. It was stated, use as simple words as possible. After all, simply put everyone does not have the same education and therefore may not comprehend those big words.
Even those of us who migrated to bigger countries had to learn some of those big words which we never heard of or used in DA. It has been a learning process and we will continue to learn other words as we hear them and look them up in the dictionary or Thesaurus.
When taking French lessons, the French Professor told us that the English language has approximately 500 similar words or 500 words. Due to this, it is the most difficult language to learn.
Simplicity of words is the key to communicating with anyone. Some people think that they must utilize big words to anyone whom they talk to. Some would say, ‘show off!’