Bailiffs for criminal case post doesn’t exist anymore
In an article in printed in The Daily Herald, the Public Prosecutor Offices has complained that’s there is no bailiff to serve summons and extension papers to the people in criminal cases.
Lawyer Maarten Le Poole also reacted in this newspaper with surprise, saying he didn’t know of this situation. I ask myself where Le Poole has been living the past 8 years.
Allow me to explain the situation with the bailiff for criminal case (straf deurwaarder) to the new Public Prosecutor.
In 1996, Mr. B.W.E. Riemsdijk at that time acting Attorney General (Wnd PG Advise # 5741/1996) advised the government of the Netherlands Antilles that there was no bailiff for criminal case on St Maarten and that the police was doing the job but could not handle it. This was going wrong at that time Mr. Fangman was chief prosecutor in the Windward Islands and the Chief Prosecutor was Dick Piar. Government employed me on February 1, 1996 to work in Curacao and later transfer me to the Windward Islands to work in August 1996.
I started working to help out with the problem in St Maarten, the same reason that Mr. Mud has stated in the newspaper this week. When I started, St. Maarten was busy recovering from Hurricane Luis and all street names were down and container village was still there in Dutch Cul de Sac. As a young man, 25-years-old not knowing where St. Peters, Dutch Quarter or Cole Bay was I managed to do my work to the fullest extent and succeeded. Not knowing anybody, I made my way to the best and surprise many who were working with me at that time.
As I always said my father was a guide to me. He did the same work for 28 years and I saw these documents since when I was small. Every prisoner got there paper on time and the summons was serve to them in person.
In 2000, a Judge named Bracht came to St Maarten to work. This man is who we need to blame for the confusion that today is been publish in the papers. He started saying things about me that I am not doing my job and that I was busy taking picture and leaving the government work on a side. Those who know me know I confronted my problem face to face and I went to ask him why he is busy talking things that were not true. He, in his position as judge, did not like it and influenced Mr. Grass who was at that time chief prosecutor and together with Dick Piar moved to fired me. This did not go well because there was never a mistake and I was always on top of my work. No backlog and I always got people even if they didn’t have the same address anymore.
The Central Government was going through a so-called crisis and laid off 313 civil servants by “closing off” their positions so they weren’t needed anymore. This is what the Public Prosecutor Office did with the function of the Bailiff for criminal cases. They terminated the function, which this meant no one could have this job anymore because bailiffs weren’t needed.
What Mr. Mud said about being short on bailiffs is not true. He does not know the history of this position and this is why he made that statement.
The court of the Netherlands Antilles has two types of bailiff one for civil case, which falls directly under the courthouse, and one for criminal cases which falls under the prosecutor’s office. The Public Prosecutor’s Office in St Maarten had only one bailiff position so you have one or none. The prosecutor in 2000 had advised government that a bailiff was not needed so I was gotten rid of and the function was made obsolete.
Now, there is no money because if a do away with a function that mean the salary disappears from the budget. Mr Mud continued saying that because police is understaffed the job is not being carried out. This is the same reason as in 1996 the when I was brought to St. Maarten to be the bailiff for criminal cases.
To quote Mud, “If the person doesn’t show up and there’s no record (that he or she was served), then we are in trouble…we do have a problem.”
The Prosecutor’s Office has admitted 8 years later what I told the judge during the civil servant court case in November 2000: the police is understaffed and this was why I was sent to St Maarten and if this continues, the department will have problem. I had said the public prosecutor’s office need a bailiff for criminal cases in St. Maarten.
I was sent to work in here on the request of the High court of the Netherlands Antilles (Gemeenschappelijk Hof van Justitie van de Nederlandse Antillen) which also had problem with the police not being about to do the job and people were not receiving their court summons. Every time, the judges came to St. Maarten they were confronted with people not appearing because they didn’t receive the summons.
I advise the new Prosecutor Office team to seek information from these people just in case they doesn’t believe me: Ludwina Spock who is now part of the Public Prosecutor team, Head Court Recorder Maritsa James, Attorney General Dick Piar (he is my neighbour in Curacao who met my father as bailiff so he has known me from a little boy walking in the Courthouse in Curacao).
I blame Mr. Piar and former Attorney General now Governor General Fritz Goedgedrag for pleasing former prosecutor Grass and former Judge Bracht for the situation now. Two men’s personal vendetta was the cause of the problem that we all have to live with today and long after that I had to vacate my office under less than honourable conditions.
This is an issue of over 8 years and not one of yesterday as Mr. Mud brought it over to your newspaper.
I have one message to those concerned: I have never lost my trust in God Almighty. It has taken me 8 years to prove to the same judge who rule in favour of the Netherlands Antilles Government in March 2001, who is now our honourable President of the Court Mrs. L.C. Hoefdraad who could not see what problem this would have caused in the future.
My lawyer E.F. Sulvaran aka “Peppie” Sulvaran and I explained the problem that would come if the ruling was in favour of government. Now, the Public Prosecutor’s office in St. Maarten is out bawling about problems that extension papers are late and summon are late to suspects.
I just have to say shame on Maarten Le Poole. He knows that I was the bailiff and he knows government got rid of the function because he was a lawyer for criminal cases so he knows. He is just playing a game as if he doesn’t know.
I believe that the new Central Government and the Attorney General have to rectify this big mistake by reemploying as bailiff for criminal cases and bailiff for civil cases as they also have problem with their workload. No ex-police or anybody else can be employ as bailiff at the prosecutor office because there is no function. The Prosecutor’s Office has to request the re-opening of the position and have it back on the budget. I have a verdict that shows clearly that the Central Government don’t need anyone in that function although it put forward the same issues as Mr. Mud has brought now, I still lost the case.
I will sit and see what will happen because of not working there anymore my life took a hell of turn and my dreams went up in the fire. Somebody has to take responsible for this and compensation has to be made for the bad advice the prosecutor gave the Central Government back in 2000.
Gromyko Wilson
Ex- Bailiff for criminal case
