Plea Bargaining Act now in force in Guyana -says AG Nandlall

The Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Act is now in force, and Attorney General Anil Nandlall is hoping that the public will offer its support to advance the legislation.

Mr. Nandlall who piloted the legislation last year, noted that the new Act will enhance judicial efficiency and save significant judicial resources.

Speaking during his weekly “Issues in the News” television programme, the Attorney General noted, that the Caribbean Court of Justice had called on every country in the region to have plea- bargaining legislation in place. Guyana has moved forward with the process.

The Act was signed into force last month, Mr. Nandlall said.

“It is important that we get the public buy-in and that is why in the plea-bargaining legislation, there is a section that mandates both the Judge or the Magistrate to inform a defendant or an accused person when he or she first appears that he/ she has a right to enter into plea discussions with the prosecutor,” the AG explained.

The Attorney General said the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has already started to utilize the process.

Among other things, the legislation establishes the rights of an accused person to have legal representation during plea discussions. It also outlines the duty of prosecutors to inform victims of their right to provide impact statements, while setting limitations on the content that can be included.

The Act prohibits a Prosecutor from initiating or participating in a plea discussion or concluding a plea agreement if the accused person, or any person or company holding assets or interests on their behalf, or any property owned by the accused, could be subject to a pecuniary penalty order, forfeiture order, or civil forfeiture order.

“Now that Act is in force, so that persons can now utilize the provisions of this Act, this is a very important legislative intervention. Firs of all it has been widely used with great success in the United States of America in particular. 95% of Criminal cases both of the level of state and federal level is concluded by the utilization of plea-bargaining,” Mr. Nandlall noted.

Mr. Nandlall said it is now mandatory in the preliminary process of the proceedings for the Court to inform the accused of the plea-bargaining procedure.