Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Jury Act an ongoing travesty of justice- R. Dancia Penn-Sallah QC

“There is an ongoing travesty of justice in this country, and it is that of the jury system. The Jury Act of 1914 is contrary to the rule of law; it is a violation of the constitution and all principles of democracy that we still have that Jury Act on our books. I speak for the profession when I make a call for a very urgent rectification of that.”

Those were the firm words of former Deputy Premier and Member of the Inner Bar, Mrs R. Dancia Penn-Sallah QC while delivering remarks at the opening of the New Law Year of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) at Sakal Place on Monday, January 13, 2020.


‘Many of the laws on our books need to be revised’

The veteran Attorney also issued a call to the Virgin Islands’ legal fraternity to become advocates for social policies and laws.

“This is a real place, with real people and many of the laws on our books need to be revised, and I know we have a government that is receptive to change, and I think we at the bar can be a great assistance and be stronger advocates for especially social policies and social legislation.”

According to Penn-Sallah, in the same way the legal profession advocates for commercial legislation, she believes it is important that it becomes more involved in advocating for policies, and for the enactment of legislation that could help strengthen the social fabric and to promote social justice. “Because it matters,” the former legislator added.


Unfortunate occurrence

While Mrs Penn-Sallah did not go into the details of the Jury Act of 1914, which has seen many amendments over the century of its existence, and where it was in violation of the constitution and a travesty to justice, our newsroom understand there are certain provisions in the law that lawyers have issues with.

It was in October 2019 that Justice Ann-Marie Smith ordered that the 2019 jury list be squashed and a new list be drafted because she felt there were several defects with its composition, including that there was not enough representation from the sister islands.


As a consequence, trials from last October had to be adjourned to January 2020.

Justice Smith had said there was no explanation provided to the court that an effort was made to properly remedy the error and deficiencies of the jury list, which were raised in July of 2019, despite the opportunity to do so.

Shortly after putting a heavy foot on the issue, which had a major effect on some high profile cases, Justice Smith was reassigned to Antigua and Barbuda and His Lordship Justice Trevor Ward, QC was assigned to the Virgin Islands.

The quashing of the jury list and the cancellation of the High Court was described as an unfortunate occurrence by Senior Resident Judge Vicki Ann Ellis, who stated it’s something no court or government wishes to see happen or recur.

Ellis, in her address at the January 13, 2020 Special Sitting, said the matter brought to the fore a concern that has been growing blatantly for many years in the Territory.

She noted the problem has been in existence well before the persons who are currently responsible for applying the Virgin Islands Jury Act, “Unfortunately, though the experience was, it has been a catalyst for constructive progress.”

“It commenced a policy dialogue which is founded in every dynamic society which is ongoing even here today. It is hope that we will finally see the reform of the Virgin Islands Jury Act for the benefit of all of concerned.”


Legislation may take some time- Premier Fahie

Turing her eyes to where the Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1), other Ministers of Government and Members of the House of Assembly were sitting, Justice Ellis said, “I understand unfortunately that process has been retarded of late but I would urge all legislators to prioritise this matter in the first half of 2020.”

It is her contention that when public safety and security and liberty of subjects are at stake, “There is always a need to act promptly even though with due deliberation.”

In anticipation of this Justice Ellis said that they have taken a review and revision of the jury handbook and it is now in the hands of the Territory’s registrar for publication.

Premier Fahie, speaking to the media following the Special Sitting, agreed there is need for the modernisation of legislations, “Not only for some of the direct thing that they may need in the Magistrate’s Courts, or etcetera, but also legislations to open up the economy. That is why our legislative agenda this year was delivered by the Governor but is the legislation of the sitting government, done by the sitting government, delivered by the Governor but is now tied in the budget for 2020 so that now we have a working work sheet which we give to each ministry.”

The Leader of Government Business noted; however, he could not commit to the court’s call for legislative reform by the mid of 2020.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×