Justice Ann-Marie Smith bursts into tears @ Special Sitting
The judge was at the time responding to welcome remarks showered on her and farewell remarks to outgoing Justices, their Lordships the Honourable Mr Justice J. Nevile Adderley and Mr Justice Adrian Jack at a Special Sitting of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC).
Justice Ann-Marie’s work in the legal profession has taken her from her home country Jamaica to St Lucia, which she said is her “second home country,” Belize in Central America, “picking up along the way, I hope, best practices and alternative ways of conducting matters in the criminal court arena.”
She said she is a firm believer of the fact, “That if we are doing a certain thing a certain way for decades, that does not mean that we should not be looking for more efficient and effective ways of reaching the same goal.”
Welcomes sentencing guidelines training
“I say this as we are embarking on sentencing guideline training next Monday [July 29, 2019] and the consultative meeting tomorrow [Saturday July 27, 2019) with Justice [Iain] Mooney on the new criminal procedural codes.”
Legal Stakeholders will be trained on Sentencing Guidelines on offences involving drugs, rape, unlawful sexual intercourse, theft and robbery.
Participants to be trained at the seminar are: the Attorney General and his officers, the Prosecuting Team at the Director of Public Prosecutions Office, the Magistracy, the Commissioner of Police and his officers, the Superintendent of Prisons and his officers, Social Development Department, the Probation Department and the Chairman of the Parole Board.
Justice Smith noted that the criminal courts continue to work to ensure that vulnerable witnesses and defendants are given the opportunity to give their best evidence by applying special measures and court driven case management processes.
Tears
On the other hand, Her Ladyship became an emotional wreck, weeping bitterly as she, before all her peers, special invited guests that included Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1; Minister for Transport, Works and Utilities, Hon Kye M. Rymer (R5); Minister for Natural Resources, Labour and Immigration, Hon Vincent O. Wheatley (R9); Junior Minister for Tourism, Honourable Shereen D. Flax-Charles (AL); Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon Neville A. Smith (AL), and reporters.
She couldn’t hold back her tears when she got to the point of thanking her daughter, her only child, for being humble and never complaining whenever they have to move from country to country because of her profession.
She chocked up as she said, “On a personal note, I want to recognise my daughter, Imani. She sits right there,” pointing to her daughter. Pausing for a few seconds to compose herself, Justice Smith said, “I just want to thank her for her companionship, she is my only child,” she continued as tears welled up in the eyes of most of the females in the room.
“When we left Belize to come to the British Virgin Islands, this child never complained. She left her friends, she left a stable environment to come to somewhere she had never been before.”
Justice Smith added, “It is difficult for children of resident judges because we move around and as soon as these children form a relationship or form friendships, it’s time for them to up and leave again.”
“But this child has never complained.” she said, regaining her composure and, with the empathy felt from the audience, managed to pull off a smile.
Background
It didn’t take long browsing the internet to find information that gave a clearer appreciation for her tears and the expressed bond with her only child.
In 2010, Justice Smith was shot three times while a judge in St Lucia. Her daughter, just 5 years old at the time, witnessed the ordeal. The judge was about to enter her car when she was attacked by two masked armed men.
At the time she had gained reputation of being tough on criminals. Facts in that case had revealed that when pounced on by the gunmen, the magistrate attempted to escape but her vehicle landed in a nearby drain as the bandits continued firing at the vehicle.
Trapped, she threw herself over her daughter resulting in her being shot.
As if that was not enough for the female judge, when she moved to Belize in 2011 she faced allegations of misappropriating court funds.
During those years she was a Magistrate in the criminal courts.
When it was made public that she was leaving Belize to take up the position as a judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, media house 7 News Belize described her as, “gaining a well-earned reputation as fearless, no-nonsense and quick to hand down sentences...”
Credited for ‘regrouping the judiciary’
Justice Ann-Marie Smith took up the post of High Court Judge in the Virgin Islands in 2018, at a time when the territory was at its weakest in delivering its judicial obligations, following the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria.
She has since been credited for almost single handedly regrouping the judiciary and getting the courts properly functioning once again.
According to one of her colleagues, Justice Vikki Ann Ellis, Justice Smith was responsible for getting Members of the Bar out of muftis and back in their gowns to work.
Criticisms
Justice Smith; however, recently came in for criticisms from the public, including a legislator.
She was criticised for what the public perceived as a lenient sentence in the case involving a man who murdered his wife in June 2017.
St Vincent national Lennox F. Da Silva aka ‘Ocho’, who knifed his Jamaican wife, Sherika Nelson- Da Silva, to death at their apartment in Greenland, Tortola, was on July 12, 2019 sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison.
Justice Smith was then criticised for handing down what the public perceived as a ‘harsh’ punishment in the case against a young man who looted a $286.76 flat screen television in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
Shamoii A. Dagou, 26, a well-known basketball player, was on July 17, 2019 sentenced to 26 months at Her Majesty’s Prison by High Court Judge Ann-Marie Smith for the offence.
See link to related story:
.png)
.png)
.png)
Follow Us On
16 Responses to “Justice Ann-Marie Smith bursts into tears @ Special Sitting”
She need to go back to Jamaica
she never cry when she was doing all those b@#$s rulings
One can come to a conclusion that the learned Judge was bias. Nevertheless, I would hope that those persons who are criticizing the Judge to organize themselves in the various Districts to ensure that the persons who are violating the laws of the Virgin Islands to desist from doing so and make the territory a better place for everyone.
Her better days are ahead of her. When she swings back with sentences like Justice RHead, bless his soul, we will sing another tune.
Madame Judge, I feel your pain. All the best to you and your daughter.
Please go get a life and stop commenting on your own foolishness. You done your sh*t and now are making a mockery of us human being and the system. Stop hiding behind the blog making your own comments here so we can be sorry for you guess what? we are not.