Concerns about slow court procedures
"In the last 10 years I think the judicial system has collapsed. It appears there is no care or will to get things done,"
Going to court can be a tedious process made worse when a court case is drawn out over a long period of time.
Martin Christie recently raised concerns about the speed of low profile court cases and the lack of urgency given to them.
The Edenvale businessman told the NEWS he has been to court about 40 times in the last three years for a case he is a witness in.
He said although he does not need to go to court anymore he wants to stay as up-to-date on the case as much as possible.
“I am beyond aggravated and frustrated.
“If it was a case where DNA needed to be collected and the perpetrator needed to be found, I could understand the delay,” said Christie.
He said in 2014 he was assaulted by a known perpetrator. At the time he thought the court would have given a ruling within a year.
Christie believes there are two possible reasons as to why the court process is taking so long.
He believes a lack of attention is given to low profile cases and more attention is given to high profile cases.
“In the last 10 years, I think the judicial system has collapsed. It appears there is no care or will to get things done,” said Christie.
Secondly, Christie believes the closure of one of the court rooms at the Edenvale Court has affected the speed of court proceedings in the area.
Originally Christie’s court case was heard at the Edenvale Magistrate’s Court, however, it was recently moved to the Germiston Magistrate’s Court.
Christie can’t understand why the court case needed to be postponed and relocated if there is another courtroom in Edenvale.
A prosecutor at the Edenvale Magistrate Court told the NEWS on July 19 that the courtroom has been closed for a number of years.
The prosecutor added that the movement of Christie’s case had nothing to do with the closed courtroom but rather the magistrate having to relocate to Germiston.
A request for comment was sent to the Department of Justice on July 20.
A comment was requested by July 21 at 1pm. At the time of publication no comment had been received.
