Derek Achong
A High Court Judge has ordered over $40,000 in compensation for a woman, who was wrongly detained by police for failing to pay a $100 balance on a $1,000 traffic ticket.
Delivering a 20-page judgment at the Hall of Justice in Port-of-Spainon Monday, Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell ordered the compensation as she ruled that Alyssa Morgan's constitutional rights to personal liberty and security of person had been infringed.
As part of her decision, Donaldson-Honeywell ordered $30,000 in general damages and the remainder in vindicatory damages.
"It is clear to me that the circumstances of this case amount to an abuse of power and fall into the category of oppressive, arbitrary, and unconstitutional action," she said.
According to the evidence in the case, Morgan was issued the ticket in 2011 after being stopped for driving without a seatbelt.
The deadline for paying the ticket in December 2012, was a Sunday, so Morgan's mother paid $900 the following day and the balance the following week.
Immediately after the first payment, a warrant was issued for her failure to clear the balance.
The warrant was eventually executed at Morgan's home, around 3.30 am, on August 28, 2016.
Although her mother claimed that she paid the ticket, the police still arrested Morgan.
She spent several hours in police custody before she was released after her relatives visited the police station with their records of payment of the ticket.
In her judgement, Donaldson-Honeywell criticised the conduct of the police officers, who executed the warrant.
"The arresting officer, having been told by the Claimant that the ticket had been paid and having sight of the age of the warrant, should have postponed the planned arrest and made expeditious checks on the records to ensure the Claimant was not detained for longer than was necessary," Donaldson-Honeywell said.
While she noted that the officers were performing their official duties, she stated that they still had an obligation to uphold her constitutional rights.
"According to the facts of this case the officers having inefficiently delayed execution of the warrant for many years, a discretion could properly have been exercised in favour of not arresting the Claimant on the day and time, in the circumstances and in the manner that they did," she said.
Donaldson-Honeywell suggested that the case highlighted the need for revamping the current system for paying fines.
"The events of this case reflect gross incompetence both in keeping track of paid fines and in the process of addressing suspected non-payment of a fine for a minor offence," she said.
Morgan was represented by Farai Hove-Masaisai, Issa Jones, and Antonya Pierre. Mary Davis and Nairob Smart represented the Office of the Attorney General.