{"id":347872,"date":"2025-09-04T13:29:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:29:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/?p=347872"},"modified":"2025-09-04T13:29:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T17:29:36","slug":"dominica-re-introduces-night-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/dominica-re-introduces-night-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Dominica re-introduces night court"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Rayburn Blackmoore addressing Wednesday press conference<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Minister for National Security Rayburn Blackmoore has announced that night court will be re-introduced in Dominica from September 8, 2025.<\/p>\n

He made the announcement during a press conference held on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

According to him, night court is scheduled from 2:00 PM until 9:00 PM.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen one speaks to the issue of administration of justice, access to the court is also very important,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I believe therefore the court should operate in a way that allows for greater flexibility and that will provide people seeking to access the court to actually settle grievances. Whether it is civil or criminal,\u00a0 [they] ought to be able to be accommodated irrespective as to what type of work they do, where they actually reside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blackmoore continued, \u201c And I believe fundamentally, the issue of introducing night court, and let me just put [it] on the record, for everybody to understand, it is not something that is new. We had night court before, that was tried before, and of course, you heard in one of the Prime Minister’s press conferences, specific references made to that. And again, at the last part of the presentation, a policy statement was made to the effect that (on the second week in February 2025), we will proceed into us commencing \u00a0night court.\u201d<\/p>\n

He further explained that his instruction \u00a0was to ensure that all the players were actually consulted and to ensure that, \u201cwe look at all the logistics that need to be considered and to move forward, and I believe that the time is now, there shall be night court…commencing on \u00a0the 8th of September.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreover, Blackmoore told the Commissioner of Police that on the issue of service, he hopes that this is not going to be an excuse for night court not to operate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be steadfast and to ensure that all the players with the respective roles to be played do so in the most efficient manner,\u201d he urged. \u201cNight court is working in other countries. We have the accommodation; we are working on an additional magistrate. There’s absolutely no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cI even heard from some people who were officers at the court. They said during the daytime they are busy. If you’re busy, now you have later in the afternoon and into the night where you can attend to your clients’ business at the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Chief Magistrate Candia Carrette-George<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chief Magistrate Candia Carrette- George said she is confident that the meetings being held with court officials and the police will continue as measures are being put in place.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we seek to prepare for night court, meetings have been held with magistrates, magistrates’ court staff, \u00a0the executive of the Dominica Bar Association, and the police,\u201d she revealed. \u201c And I am confident \u00a0that those discussions will continue as we keep \u00a0putting measures in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carrette-George asserted that in order for night court to succeed, the police and the bailiff must be diligent and ensure that there is proper service for persons who are to attend court.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the clerical side, we are ensuring that cases are properly scheduled,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

She revealed that for the period of July 1, 2024, to\u00a0 June 20, 2025, a total of 2,358 cases were filed, while 2,471 were disposed of, \u201cso we see the backlog in that instance was reduced by 113 cases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs more magistrates and new strategies are established, I am confident that we will make greater inroads into the existing backlog,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

Carrette-George indicated that the entire magistrate’s court staff will continue to do all in their power to ensure that they continue to realise a reduction in the backlog until the number becomes insignificant.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Lincoln Corbette- press conference on Wednesday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, Acting Chief of Police Lincoln Corbette said in keeping with the mandate of the Minister of National Security\u00a0\u00a0to enhance the \u00a0efficiency, \u00a0access to the court, and also to reduce the backlog to the court, \u201cthe police force is committed to ensuring that all measures are in place, all security measures are in place to ensure that the court runs smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also added that there will be enhanced screening at the court, additional officers to provide security within the court, as well as a dedicated prosecutor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would have heard the court will deal with civil and criminal matters, so in case of criminal matters, we must have prosecutors on hand,\u201d Corbette explained. \u201c So we will support the court to ensure that all functions, when it deals with the police, are dealt with professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Minister for National Security Rayburn Blackmoore has announced that night court will be re-introduced in Dominica from September 8, 2025. He made the announcement during a press conference held on Wednesday. According to him, night court is scheduled from 2:00…","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":347877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","footnotes":""},"categories":[19,235,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-347872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime-court-law","category-homepage-carousel","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDominica re-introduces night court - Dominica News Online<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominicanewsonline.com\/news\/homepage\/homepage-carousel\/dominica-re-introduces-night-court\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dominica re-introduces night court - Dominica News Online\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Minister for National Security Rayburn Blackmoore has announced that night court will be re-introduced in Dominica from September 8, 2025. 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