Courtney Anderson’s trip to the Half-Way Tree Court on Tuesday was supposed to end a 20-year wait for documents confirming the dismissal of a 1996 case against him — the final step needed to begin the expungement of his record.
Instead, the man who walked in “with the confidence of a lion” left shaken “like a frightened rabbit”, empty-handed and facing a shocking revelation.
“The lady in the office told me that I should come back on Thursday. She said I don’t have to bring a lawyer,” Anderson recounted yesterday, in what he had hoped would be the closing chapter of a story first reported by The Sunday Gleaner three weeks ago.
However, during the visit, he was told that a warrant had been issued for his arrest — though he has no idea why.
“A warrant out for my arrest? I live at the same place since the incident. Except for two times when I went overseas and came back after four months, I have never left that place,” Anderson said.
“And if a warrant is out for my arrest, why would the judge tell me, in 1996, that since I had been coming to court and the complainant had not shown up, she was dismissing the case against me?”
Visibly rattled as he exited the building, Anderson said the development was the biggest shock of his last 30 years.
“Me who so ‘fraid a prison. A warrant is there for 30 years, and nobody — no police — come find me to execute it, and me live at the same place,” he said.
He was told the warrant was issued on April 19, 1996.
Unfamiliar with the court and policing systems, Anderson said the ordeal left him deeply unsettled — even as he simply tried to navigate the process.
His initial attempt to obtain a police record from the Jamaica Constabulary Force also proved frustrating. He said the police found no record and directed him to the court office, where the case had supposedly been dismissed.
While insisting the matter was resolved decades ago, Anderson recalled a troubling moment from 1996.
“I remember one day a district constable from Duhaney Park Police [Station] saw me and told me there was a warrant issued for me. He took me in a service vehicle to Half-Way Tree Court to see the judge,” Anderson said.
“I stayed there until I was the only one left and didn’t hear my name called, so I left. When I went back on my court date, the judge scolded me and told me I could go to prison for not attending court.”
He said it was then that the judge indicated the case would be dismissed because the complainant had repeatedly failed to appear.
For Anderson, that should have been the end of the matter.
However, his attempt to secure documentation for an expungement has, instead, revealed that the decades-old case may not be fully resolved.
He expressed disappointment that following the recent publication of his story and the apparent discovery of the ‘lost’ file, no steps had been taken to address the warrant.
Attorney-at-law Matthew Hyatt said the situation raises serious questions.
“The circumstances seem strange, including what happened on Tuesday,” Hyatt said. “If a matter is dismissed, an active warrant should not remain in place.”
He explained that a judge would issue a warrant, and the police would be responsible for executing it.
“If the matter was dismissed, there should normally be a document from the court confirming that. If not, then there are serious concerns about record-keeping,” he added.
Addressing the broader expungement process, Hyatt noted that while reforms led by Delroy Chuck have expanded the list of offences eligible for expungement, delays remain a major issue.
“I have clients waiting two to three years after submitting all the paperwork,” he said. “There is a backlog, and persons are being held up from migrating or accessing job opportunities because of it.”
As for Anderson, he plans to return to court on Thursday — but this time, without expectations.
“Boy, I don’t know… .” he said quietly.
At the time of the incident, Anderson was a bus driver. He said he removed the hand of a passenger who was holding onto his driver’s seat, after which she alleged that he struck her in the face.
He also claimed that a police officer who boarded the bus along Washington Boulevard beat him in the head before he returned the vehicle to its owner.
A report was made, and Anderson was arrested and charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.
He maintains that prior to that incident, he had never been involved in any similar matter — and has not been since.