Minister of National Security and Leader of Government Business in the House Of Assembly, the Hon. Wayne Munroe appeared at a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday where he defended the Trial By Judge Alone Bill passed in the House on Wednesday.

Munroe specifically addressed concerns about possible bias by judges. He said, “to talk about bias is to suggest that a judge will not be true to his judicial oath. Judges swear to do right by all men without fear or favor. Judges if they have an issue of bias that they know move immediately. You would see the exercise in the Kirk Cornish case where judges asks those questions of jurors and depending on what jurors say then they excuse them. In that case where the juror did not disclose a close relationship to the Leader of the Opposition.”

The Trial By Judge Alone Bill provides the legal framework for accused persons to choose whether they would like to be tried before a judge alone or a jury in the Supreme Court.

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