The Balanced

A trial magistrate has on Wednesday, 30 th January remanded the chairman and 7 members of the 3 Years Jotna Movement to Mile 2. Magistrate P. Sarr remanded the accused persons pending their arraignment before the high court for lack of jurisdiction to try the third count. The transfer of the case to the high court came through an application by the prosecuting officer –Superintendent M.D. Mballow although it was opposed by the defence lawyer – Lawyer Lamin S. Camara. The accused persons are; Abdou Njie, the chairman of the movement, Ebrima Kitim Jarju, Sheriffo Sonko, Hagi Suwaneh (the spokesperson), Fanta Mballow, Karim Touray, Yankuba Darboe (alias Yanks Darboe) and Muctarr Ceesay. They 3 charges are; unlawful assembly, rioting after proclamation and rioters demolishing structures contrary to sections 70, 74 and 76 of the Criminal Code respectively. Mballow applied for the court to transfer the matter to the high court because the court lacks the jurisdiction t...

Many journalists do not appreciate reporting from the courts. This is as a result of several issues but mainly lack of understanding of the trade. Notwithstanding, some of the journalists are made to believe that reporting from the courts is risky. Take a look at the media fraternity, you can point out the court reporter as opposed to the other media fields. As a beginner, you have to understand the basics of court reporting. This write-up intends to take you through some of the basics of court reporting. I will be writing in series for the ease of understanding of many.  Why court reporting? The Constitution provides that all trials should be held in the public except wherein explicitly stated otherwise. Journalists are allowed to go to court and report the court proceedings. As a reporter, you are not required to add anything to what is been said or done before the court. In one way, one can argue that it is very risky to report from ...

Why blogging? With my great love for journalism and media work; with my passion for law and justice; and with my love to inform people, I deemed it important to create this blog primarily to educate and inform people about our courts. I will publish court stories here as well as raise issues facing the courts. The stories will be factual and it will be written in the most simpler language for the readers to understand. I will interview lawyers as well as raise important topics for the readers to comment. I will also publish important stories that are related to the judiciary and the bar. They are the two primary stakeholders of the courts. I will also publish images and videos here where possible wherein people talk about the courts and judiciary. I will also publish my videos whenever I deem it necessary to do so. I hope you will find this blog interesting. Please do share the articles for more audience too. Who is Yankuba Jallow? He was born in Sibanor – Foni Binta...