NASSAU- A magistrate changed a drug dealer’s sentence without legal authority, according to the Court of Appeal.
Stanley Pratt admitted to having four pounds of marijuana with intent to supply at his arraignment before Magistrate Charlton Smith on July 12, 2019.
The magistrate sentenced him to one year in prison and ordered him to pay a $2,000 fine to avoid spending an additional six months in prison.
But Magistrate Smith unlawfully vacated the sentence on July 16, a day after Pratt’s lawyers filed an appeal on the basis that it was too harsh.
Although his jurisdiction to deal with the case had expired, Magistrate Smith fined Pratt $5,000 or one year in prison. Pratt paid the fine and has since moved to Canada.
The magistrate’s unauthorized actions came to light after the Court of Appeal listed Pratt’s appeal last November.
Pratt’s lawyer Simone Brown sought to abandon his appeal against sentence.
In a ruling delivered on Wednesday, the Court granted the application for abandonment.
But the Court said this meant that Pratt was subject to the initial sentence.
However, the Court did not order Pratt’s committal to prison. Instead, the court left the next move up to the State.
It’s unlikely though that Pratt will face extradition. That’s because Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Neil Brathwaite said that it would be unfair.
Still, the Court reminded magistrates that their functions end after passing sentence.
The Court said, “In the future, magistrates should be aware of the limits of their jurisdiction and govern themselves accordingly.”
