Claude O. Skelton-Cline has argued that the constitutional requirement for the Attorney General (AG) to report to the Governor creates an inherent conflict, particularly when the Governor and the elected Government are not in alignment. Photo: VINO/File

Radio personality and former government consultant Pastor Claude O. Skelton-Cline has called for a comprehensive review and overhaul of the Virgin Islands’ legal and constitutional framework, since he believes the current structure governing the Office of the Attorney General (AG) is outdated and ill-suited to meet the needs of the Territory. Photo: Facebook

Speaking on his ‘Honestly Speaking’ radio programme broadcast on ZBVI 780 AM, on April 29, 2025, Skelton-Cline was of the view, the AG’s current legislative mandate under the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007, particularly Section 95, which defines the office's role and reporting structure itself disqualifies it. 

How could you?

“From where I sit, it is clear to me that the AG’s office is doing the best job that they can; But the country has outgrown the mandate of the AG’s office.”

Qualifying his position further, he argued that the constitutional requirement for the AG to report to the Governor creates an inherent conflict, particularly when the Governor and the elected Government are not in alignment.

“How do you report to the Governor in terms of legal advice and also to the Government, when the Governor and the Government are not—and more often than not—are in agreement with each other?” 

He further questioned, “How does the same lawyer advise two different clients who are at odds or at polar opposites at the same time? How could you be the lawyer for both? You see the challenge?”

Adamant that his concerns were not a critique of the individuals serving within the chambers but rather a broader indictment, he suggested, “We are forced to operate in a system that no longer serves our growth and maturity as a country.”

To this end, he posits, “Until and unless we deal with the structural and systemic challenges within the structure, we’re going to continue to come up short.”

He quipped, “At one point, our feet were six inches. Our feet are now 12 inches. But we are continuing to try to wear a six-inch shoe. It no longer fits.”

Take corrective measures in law

Skelton-Cline also used the time to question the decision to make the current Attorney General a permanent and pensionable post—a first for the Virgin Islands—and expressed concern over the implications for government agility.

“I don’t know that that’s a good idea because you know when in governments in particular, when people become permanent and pensionable, it is difficult to move stuff, and that’s not a critique of the occupant, it’s a critique of the system and how we have gone about doing some things.”

According to Skelton-Cline, it is time the Cabinet and Governor each have access to their own separate legal counsel, as a means of reducing the AG’s currently overloaded remit.

“Cabinet should have their own legal advisors. The Governor should have their own legal advisors. The current mandate of the Attorney General’s Office is way too broad, as I understand it. That’s why some of you are complaining that that is where things go to die.”

He was adamant “...you have to get to the why things are happening before you can deal with the what; We must address the whys, the elephants in the room, and seek to take corrective measures in law, in statute, constitutionally, so that it can produce the fruit that we are all desirous of.”