Pretoria - Two judges have expressed their concern over the perception some magistrates are keen to knock-off early on a Friday afternoon to start the weekend and adjourn their courts early.
This was after a magistrate was apparently hasty to go home at 3pm on a Friday.
They, however, did not spare a senior prosecutor, who used “rude and unprofessional language” in a letter in which she complained about the magistrate.
This came to the fore during a review application by the State in a case where four murder accused were given bail in Ficksburg Magistrate’s Court in the Free State. The high court of that division was asked to look into the conduct of the magistrate.
A senior prosecutor claimed the magistrate who heard the bail application “does not understand criminal law” and did not give the prosecution a chance to state their case as she was hasty.
The senior prosecutor wrote a letter to the judicial head of court in Ficksburg, in which she complained about the magistrate. Her complaints included that the magistrate granted bail to the four accused without giving the State an opportunity to address her fully on the matter.
She wrote to the head of the court that “this judicial officer does not understand the criminal procedure. She commits criminal procedure blunder after blunder. This case is just a tip of an iceberg”.
The judges found the magistrate did not act irregularly when she granted bail to the four and there were no grounds for the matter to be sent on special review to the high court by the prosecutor.
The judges, however, did not take kindly to the letter sent by the prosecutor and said the tone of the letter was “regrettable”.
They added the prosecutor who wrote the letter was the most senior member of the NPA in the Ficksburg magistrate’s court, and the community she served as a “people’s lawyer” expected a certain level of professionalism from her.
“This also entails treating other stakeholders, like the judiciary, with the respect that they deserve. Irrespective of the position that she holds in the NPA, she had no right to cast aspersions on the competency or otherwise of the magistrate that ‘she does not understand the criminal procedure and commits blunder after blunder.’’
“This statement is very unfortunate, unbecoming, and has to be rebuked,” the judges said.
They added if the prosecutor had any concerns about the magistrate, there were “more civilised, professional and structured protocols” that she should have followed”.
Acting Judge MM Matsahaya, who wrote the judgment, said: ‘’I do not suggest that a magistrate must never be criticised during the exercise of her duties. But the manner of doing so must be respectful and professional.”
The judges ordered this judgment, as well as the letter of complaint, had to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions to sensitize prosecutors regarding proper language to be used for official purposes and acceptable ethical standards.
The magistrate was also not spared in this judgment. The judges referred to passages in the case record where she, on two Friday afternoons during this bail application, hastened counsel on as it was already 3pm.
She asked how many questions they still had, as “things had to wrap-up’. “We are already at 15:00 in the afternoon on a Friday,” the magistrate said.
The judges said there was a general perception that magistrate’s courts do not sit on Fridays or adjourn early at the expense of serving members of the public.
They said the magistrate’s hurriedness and impatience to the parties because it was a Friday was a cause for concern. Judicial Officers should make optimal use of available resources and time and strive to prevent fruitless and wasteful expenditure at all times, they added.
Pretoria News