Talk:Gun Court/GA1

GA Review

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Hey everyone. I'll be reviewing this article for possible GA status. Nikkimaria (talk) 20:08, 12 June 2009 (UTC)

On hold: this article is awaiting improvements before it is passed or failed. Nikkimaria (talk) 00:35, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Writing and formatting

• "Musical influence" is an unclear title for a subsection, as it could indicate either music's influence on the topic OR the topic's influence on music. "Gun Court in music" or "Cultural impact" would be clearer.

Changed to "Gun Court in music." --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• In the lead, "Supreme Court" and "Circuit Courts" are both red links to a Jamaica-specific topic, while "Resident Magistrate's" links to a more general article on magistrates in former British colonies. For consistency, you should link the other two to Supreme court and Circuit court, or delink the two red links (or create the articles yourself).

Now linked to a new stub, Judiciary of Jamaica. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "Those convicted by the Gun Court are imprisoned in a dedicated prison at South Camp in Kingston, and the court sessions were held in the same facility until 1999." This sentence covers two seemingly unrelated topics, and the connection is unclear. If you mean that the court sentences are held at the prison (as stated in the photo's caption), clarify that; otherwise, separate into two sentences.

Split into two sentences and clarified. The prison compound included a courthouse, in which the Gun Court sessions were held. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "The goal to expedite" -> "goal was to"

Fixed, thank you. --Amble (talk) 00:53, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

• Firearms Act leads to a disambiguation page where the relevant article is a red link

Now linked to a new stub, Firearms Act (Jamaica) --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "The unusual features of the Gun Court have faced legal challenges, some of which forced amendment of the Gun Court Act" - for consistency, either "Gun Court faced legal challenges" or "which have forced" should be substituted in the appropriate place

have and have, now fixed. Thanks. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• Instead of a red link, Constitution of Jamaica should link to either the "Government" section of Jamaica, or to Politics of Jamaica

Now linked to Politics of Jamaica. In general, I thought that red links were OK as indications that a new article is needed; is that not the case for GA status? --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

GA requirements don't exclude the presence of red links, but in this case, information about Jamaica's constitution is important to the reader's understanding of the criticism of the Act. I left the red link for Suppression of Crime Act alon, for example, because the relevant information was provided in the article, but Politics of Jamaica provides important background information. Nikkimaria (talk) 15:25, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "The Privy Council found that serious crimes to be tried before the Full Court division were in fact reserved by the Constitution of Jamaica to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, and therefore could not be heard by panels of resident magistrates as specified in the Act" - this sentence is unclear as written and should be reworded.

Split into several (clearer, I hope) sentences. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• Consider linking "Court of Appeals" to Appellate court instead of the non-existant Jamaica-specific version, unless there are significant differences, in which case these should be explained here.

There are differences. I have linked to the new stub Judiciary of Jamaica and noted that this is Jamaica's highest appellate court (above the Supreme Court). --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "Court President" is an official title and should be capitalized

Now capitalized. Thanks. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• In "Division", "Resident Magistrate" is sometimes capitalized and sometimes not

Now capitalized in all cases, as Jamaican government documents capitalize this title. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• In "Western Regional Gun Court", "parliament" should be capitalized

Now capitalized. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "four western parishes, Hanover, Trelawny, Saint James, and Westmoreland are heard" -> use parantheses, or add a comma after westmoreland

The comma was misplaced - thanks. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• Stalag 17 links to a film. Did you mean to link to a POW camp, or was the film the intended target?

As far as I know, only the play and the film are widely known. Although there was a real Stalag XVII (according to our Stalag 17 article), the nickname must refer to the dramatization. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• "Bar Council" -> "Jamaican Bar Association" or "Virgin Islands Bar Council", as appropriate

It's the Bar Council of the Jamaican Bar Association, now clarified. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• The album Free Jah's Cure has an article under the title Free Jah's Cure The Album The Truth

Thanks, now linked. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Accuracy and verifiability

• In "History", you should space citations throughout paragraphs as needed instead of grouping them all at the end, to improve verifiability

I have worked to improve this. In some cases, I only have a single source for a given court case, so I retain that citation at the end of the relevant paragraph. Is that OK? --Amble (talk) 00:53, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

• Need citations for:

• The goal to expedite and improve enforcement of the 1967 Firearms Act, which imposed licensing requirements on ownership and possession of guns and ammunition, and prohibited automatic weapons entirely

I have added a citation to the licensing authority for info on licensing; and to Rowe for the goals. As for the prohibition on automatic weapons, I can't find a news story that says this directly; they tend to take it for granted, stating that a certain number X of prohibited weapons have been confiscated, among them Y machine guns. I have cited the text in the Firearms Act that defines automatic weapons as prohibited weapons and states that no licenses shall be granted for them. If this is not good enough, the mention will have to go. --Amble (talk) 06:39, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

I'm a little bit reluctant to use the Rowe source outside of the criticism section, since the author presents a strong point of view against the Gun Court system. On the other hand, it's one of the few sources I have that actually describes the law's provisions in detail. The author is a member of the Florida Bar and the Jamaican Bar, a noted law professor specializing in the Caribbean, and also happens to be the son of Ira De Cordova Rowe, who was probably the most significant jurist in independent Jamaica. Therefore, I take it as reliable. --Amble (talk) 00:39, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

• The new judicial procedures of the Gun Court Act

Added cite to Michael Manley quote for purposes of these procedures --Amble (talk) 00:30, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

• The three divisions differ in their jurisdictions and procedures

This sentence summarizes the following ones, so I'm not sure whether you meant that it should be sourced itself, or if you meant that more sourcing is needed in the following sentences. In any case I have added a couple of additional ref tags for existing sources here.

• The Gun Court Act originally instituted a Full Court Division...

This summarizes information which is given in more detail in the History section, so I had not given the citations again. Now added. --Amble (talk) 06:41, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

• the Jamaican Bar Association protested against the lack of jury trials

This sentence goes with the following one, and they have the same source. I have added an extra ref tag, but I'm not sure it's necessary. --Amble (talk) 06:39, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

• The reggae musician Jah Cure released his first album...

This sentence goes with the following one, and they have the same source. I have added an extra ref tag, but I'm not sure it's necessary. --Amble (talk) 06:39, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

• Refs: Links 2, 7, 11, 19 are broken

Fixed. The Google News links seem to have broken recently, but perhaps they will be more stable in the future. --Amble (talk) 18:01, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• Ref 17 says that the prison is now called South Camp Road Rehabilitation Centre, while you call it South Camp Adult Correctional Facility. Which is correct?

I have added a link to the Department of Correctional Services for the current name (South Camp Adult Correctional Facility). As far as I can tell, the "Rehabilitation Centre" name was in use for a few years but has been changed. --Amble (talk) 18:10, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

Broad

No issues noted

Neutral

• Be careful of WP:WTA - words like "however" and "although" should not be used outside of quotes without exact qualification, as they introduce a bias to the article

I have reviewed the howevers and althoughs, and removed two of the howevers as unnecessary. The remaining however and although highlight a change of circumstances over time, so I believe they should be acceptable. --Amble (talk) 01:08, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Stable

No issues noted

Images

• Per Wikipedia:Captions, captions are generally 3 lines or fewer, and most are not complete sentences. Consider revising the caption for the first picture, perhaps by removing the second sentence

Shortened, thanks. --Amble (talk) 06:49, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

• The article could use a second image, although it is not required

I have been unable to find another free picture, but with no success. It's too bad, as it would be easy for someone in Kingston to take better pictures of the South Camp facility as well as the court buildings. --Amble (talk) 05:28, 13 June 2009 (UTC)

I've only found one active editor from Jamaica, and he does not live there. He may be able to contribute some photos for Jamaican places after his holiday visit. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have much participation from within the country. --Amble (talk) 01:11, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Responses and revisions

I have attempted to respond to each of the reviewer's points, incorporating her recommendations into the article in almost all cases. --Amble (talk) 01:09, 19 June 2009 (UTC)