PNP takes issue with Tavares-Finson's application for a fiat to prosecute Norman Scott in assault case

The Opposition People's National Party is expressing "grave concern" regarding the application by Senator Tom Tavares-Finson for a fiat to prosecute Mayor of Spanish Town Norman Scott.

In a media release Saturday morning, the PNP said it would be "wholly improper for a known political operative of the JLP to be granted a fiat to prosecute a political officer aligned with the opposing Party."

Tavares-Finson currently serves as a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)-appointed senator, President of the Senate, and JLP-nominated Commissioner of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

Tavares-Finson applied to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for the fiat on Tuesday.

Scott, who made his first appearance in the St Elizabeth Parish Court on Monday, pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and malicious destruction of property. He is to return to court on November 27.

The charges stem from a clash at a polling station in St Elizabeth on Election Day, during which Scott is accused of hitting JLP Election Day supervisor Julie Francis in the face and destroying her glasses.

In its media release, the PNP states that the right to a fair trial is a universal human right that ensures justice is served based on evidence, not political considerations. It further argues that a fair trial requires an impartial and disinterested prosecutor.

"It is a denial of justice to deprive an accused individual of basic fairness and impartiality. Prosecutors play an important role in preserving public trust in the justice system due to their unique role as ministers of justice," Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Zuleika Jess, says.

She adds, "Prosecutors are asked to exercise substantial discretion and are required to operate in a disinterested way. The public’s perception that the justice system operates in an unbiased manner is crucial to the administration of justice. Where the process is tainted by real or reasonably perceived prejudices, the public’s trust in the system is eroded. As often noted, both the appearance and reality of impartial justice are necessary to ensure public legitimacy of judicial outcomes and the rule of law."

Tavares-Finson has insisted that his decision to prosecute the case is not politically motivated.

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