AG Explains Gun and Gang Court in 13th Amendment

One of the proposed legislations in the Thirteenth Amendment is the establishment of a Gun and Gang Court. So, how will this specialized court assist in combat gun violence and gang warfare? We asked Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre this morning. Here is his response.

 

Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General

“As things currently stand, matters are being dealt with in the magistrate’s court. The idea is to have these be dealt with in a specialized gang and gun court. In the Magistrates Court, the Magistrates deal with all kind of matters, traffic, and all other types of matters, including civil matters. A case may have started in January but it is not completed, through no faulty of the Magistracy, until maybe a year, because it is adjourned a number of times. The idea is to move that and have these cases dealt with as similar to the High Court which is why the amendment is to have the court has the powers of both a magistrate and a High Court judge. So, with respect to a specialized court, it is nothing new in Belize and other countries to have specialized court that deals with family matters, revenue matters, administration, estate matters, the idea is to have a specialized court that deals with gun and gang matters and that will allow for expedited hearing.”