Hon. Justice Adolph Lucas

Judge of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Adolph Lucas has lived many lives. He was in a different life as a Law Enforcement Officer. In another life he was a Magistrate. Then he was a Prosecutor. Indeed, we are reliably informed that he rose through the ranks to become an Inspector of Police, the nation’s Chief Magistrate and the top Prosecutor under the constitution when he became a no-nonsense Director of Public Prosecutions.

Mr. Lucas did not just sit back and become a Supreme Court Judge. As a mature man with a family to look after, he left Belize and lived in the Caribbean Islands of Jamaica and Barbados for five years. He obtained his law degree and then his Norman Manley Law School graduation to become a qualified attorney at law. Judge Lucas also opened his private law firm before being asked to serve his country as a Judge.

Judge Lucas is considered the strictest or is that the ‘most strictest’ of the Judges in the Supreme Court. He can be harsh at times but lawyers have sung his praises as a fair minded man who dispenses justice.

Word is now circulating that Judge Lucas has stood up firmly for the liberty of accused persons and the rights of Belizeans. Under the ill advised and foolish law passed by the Minister of National Security and his government, an amendment to the Crime Control Law and gun law has been resulting in widespread injustices. Citizens are being treated as if they are guilty even before they have a trial. The law prevents Magistrates from granting bail in a number of accusations for a period of ninety days.

Persons accused under these offences are then forced to go to prison unless they can find two thousand dollars to pay for lawyers to apply for bail at the Supreme Court.

In some Districts, Magistrates are wrongly interpreting the law and keeping citizens in jail much longer than the three month period. In several instances, the DPP objects to persons getting bail. If successful, the person then remains in jail much longer than the three months. Recently, a citizen applied for bail. He had been in jail for three months. His trial was for a serious offence which would take place in the Supreme Court. This person’s bail application was heard by Judge Lucas. The DPP objected to bail. Judge Lucas heard arguments from both sides and made an important ruling. His ruling is that a person’s liberty is not to be taken lightly. The Crime Control Law provides that after three months the person should be granted bail or his trial should be held at the earliest. The DPP had no Preliminary Inquiry and was not ready for trial. Why should the person continue to be deprived of his liberty? Bail would be granted.

Judge Lucas’ decision is very important. It upholds the constitution that liberty is a sacred right. It assists other Judges not to take the rights of citizens lightly and who adjourn bail hearings or who allow the DPP to deprive citizens of their liberty by keeping them in jail before a trial. The Decision also is binding on Magistrates who are wrongly keeping citizens in jail after the three month period.

A Judge had stood up for justice. Judge Lucas had said the law can go so far but no further. His important decision is binding on the DPP and her Crown Counsels and on Magistrate Courts who have fallen into error in treating the liberty of our citizens too lightly.