mentioning the nationality of people charged with offences.

The issue arose in a plea court session this week when Crown prosecutor Charmaine Smith, in presenting the facts of a drunk driving case, stated that the offender is an Indian national.

"Mrs. Smith I do hope you did not type this up yourself,'' said Mr. King "because you do know and should know that there is no need to identify where a person is from.'' "There is no reason to give the nationality. Did you say that the man before this was Bermudian?'' asked Mr. King. "When you state a person's nationality it can prejudice a case as the likelihood of bias is always there.'' Mr. King then went on to give the court a number of examples to illustrate his point. He noted that if one was to say someone was German, it may adversely affect the judgment a Jewish person might hand down.

He also pointed out that many people think Jamaicans are violent and if told beforehand that the accused is Jamaican, they may be more likely to think the defendant is guilty.