US embassy cable - 05KINGSTON2292

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KINGSTON 002292 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INL/LP (BOZZOLO), WHA/CAR (BENT) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/04/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, SNAR, KCRM, JM 
SUBJECT: THE CONTROVERSY OVER EXTRADITION 
 
 
Classified By: Charge Ronald S. Robinson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) On October 3, NAS Director spoke with the Legal 
advisor to the Minister of Justice, Dr. Stephen Vasciannie 
and Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Carol Palmer 
regarding reports that the GOJ is preparing to move 
extradition cases from the Resident Magistrate Court (RMC) to 
the Supreme Court.  Palmer confirmed that that GOJ is 
exploring the possibility because defense attorneys are using 
loopholes in the system to delay the extradition process.  On 
September 11, Minister of Justice, A. J. Nicholson sternly 
responded to a call from defense attorneys and other 
detractors for the revision of the Extradition Act and 
Jamaica's Extradition Treaty with the U.S., stating in part 
that Jamaican authorities remain resolute in the fight 
against illegal drugs, and the GOJ will continue to cooperate 
in extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries. 
 End Summary. 
 
2. (C) On October 3, NAS Director spoke with the Legal 
advisor to the Minister of Justice, Dr. Stephen Vasciannie 
and Justice Ministry Permanent Secretary Carol Palmer 
regarding reports that the GOJ is preparing to move 
extradition cases from the Resident Magistrate court (RMC) to 
the Supreme Court.  Palmer confirmed that that GOJ is 
exploring the possibility because defense attorneys are using 
loopholes in the system to delay the extradition process.  On 
September 11, Minister of Justice, A. J. Nicholson sternly 
responded to a call from defense attorneys and other 
detractors for the revision of the Extradition Act and 
Jamaica's Extradition Treaty with the U.S., stating in part 
that Jamaican authorities remain resolute in the fight 
against illegal drugs, and the GOJ will continue to cooperate 
in extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries. 
 
3. (C) Palmer stated that the Ministry of Justice is in the 
"preliminary exploratory" stages and has just begun the 
research into what moving extradition cases from the RMC to 
the Supreme Court will entail.  She also noted that if 
extradition matters were moved to the Supreme Court, there 
would be quicker decisions, which will benefit all parties 
involved.  She stated that historically there have not been 
many extradition cases so this move should not have a 
negative effect on the workload of the Supreme Court. 
Corroborating Palmer's statement, Vasciannie stated that the 
decision was made not because cases are being held up by the 
court system, but by clever defense attorneys using an 
outdated court system to delay the extradition of their 
clients. 
 
4. (C) Vasciannie explained that the GOJ is exploring an 
alternative means of handling extradition cases in which a 
defendant that is subject to the possibility of extradition, 
has recourse to two different appeal processes.  In 
describing the current system, Vasciannie stated that both 
the Supreme Court and RMC have unlimited jurisdiction, which 
means that there will not be substantive changes to the 
rights of defendants.  Currently, defendants are allowed to 
appeal a decision to extradite by the RMC to the Supreme 
Court.  Once that decision is handed down, the case goes back 
to the RMC.  He noted that what has become popular is for 
defendants to also claim that an affirmtive decision to 
extradite violates their constitutional rights and they file 
a second motion with the Supreme Court.  In the new, 
streamlined process, instead of having to go the RMC first, 
cases go straight to the Supreme Court where the general 
issue of extradition is heard as well as any constitutional 
motions.  If a defendant loses the motions at the Supreme 
Court level, then he is allowed to bring a final motion to 
the Court of Appeal, the court of last resort, and that 
court's decision is final. 
 
5. (C) Both Palmer and Vasciannie reiterated that this 
process is only in the exploratory stage and stated that in 
order to change the way extradition cases are handled, the 
Extradition Act would have to be amended.  While there is no 
timeline for this, Palmer stated that the Minister of Justice 
would like to have the new process finalized before the end 
of the year.  Vasciannie added, "the Minister of Justice 
would want him to note that the streamlining of extradition 
cases would also enhance the cooperation between the GOJ and 
the U.S." 
 
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Extradition Act Unconstitutional 
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6. (C) There currently are two U.S. designated "Drug 
Kingpins" awaiting extradition hearings, Leebert Ramcharan 
and Norris "Dedo" Nembhard.  Both defendants' attorneys have 
claimed that the Extradition Act is unconstitutional and that 
their clients cannot be assured of a fair trial if extradited 
to the U.S. due to their designation on the U.S. drug kingpin 
list.  Defense attorneys and other critics have also claimed 
that the kingpin designation is inconsistent with principles 
of justice and the rule of law and may prejudice the right to 
a fair trial by virtue of its impact on public opinion in the 
U.S. 
 
7. (C) On September 11, Minister of Justice A. J. Nicholson 
responded to these allegations by stating that "the courts in 
the U.S. are usually sensitive to the effect of prejudicial, 
pre-trial publicity on the rights of the accused, and so, 
have in place safeguards to ensure that the selection of 
jurors in cases concerning alleged drug kingpins does not 
allow for undue influence among persons selected for jury 
duty in these cases."  Nicholson added that there may 
conceivably be cases in which persons in the U.S. are aware 
of the drug kingpin designation, and may find themselves a 
juror in one of these cases.  If this were to happen, 
Nicholson argued that jurors would be obliged to disregard 
the designation and to pay attention only to the evidence 
presented in the case.  Nicholson stated that Jamaican 
authorities remain resolute in the fight against illegal 
drugs, and that the GOJ will continue to cooperate in 
extradition proceedings with the U.S. and other countries. 
 
8. (C) On September 9, NAS Director met with the Acting 
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) Donald Bryan. 
Bryan stated that the repetitive arguments that the 
Extradition Act is unconstitutional and that Jamaica's 
Extradition Treaty with the U.S. needs to be revised, are an 
effort to gain public sympathy for those accused.   He 
further stated that the DPP's office does not foresee any 
changes to the Extradition Act based on the arguments of 
critics.  Crown Council Jeremy Taylor advised on October 4 
that a ruling on Ramcharan's motion that the "Kingpin" 
designation is unconstitutional will be given on October 6. 
Taylor stated that he expects the ruling will not be in 
Ramcharan's favor and that Ramcharan's attorneys will 
probably then file a motion with the Court of Appeal. 
 
9. (C) Comment: The Embassy enjoys good cooperation with the 
GOJ on extradition matters.  The decision to streamline the 
extradition process is a welcome development but will come 
with a good amount of protest from defense attorneys and 
other detractors.  To no one's surprise, Jamaica's suspected 
drug king pins are able to afford the country's top defense 
attorneys to exploit any weakness in the case against their 
clients.  An affirmative outcome to the high profile 
extradition cases of U.S. drug designated kingpins Leebert 
Ramcharan and Norris "Dedo" Nembhard will undoubtedly send a 
shockwave through Jamaica as these cases will set a precedent 
for others.  Post will continue to monitor and report on 
developments on extradition matters.  End Comment. 
ROBINSON