The V.I. Supreme Court has developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review of its final decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, federal courts found in their first five-year review of the nascent court, delivered Tuesday on St. Thomas.
The review, conducted by the Judicial Council of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, also recommends Congress consider legislation providing that direct review.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that this Court has come a very long way, and has accomplished much during its relatively short existence," V.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rhys Hodge said while accepting the report from U.S. Third Circuit Judges Theodore McKee and D. Brooks Smith.
"Although the Court has done much over the past five years, our journey is far from over," Hodge said, according to a Supreme Court statement. “Regardless of whether the recommendations in this report are ultimately adopted by Congress, we will celebrate additional milestones, confront new challenges and otherwise continue to grow as an institution.”
The changes would place V.I. Supreme Court in the same relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court as state high courts, making it the highest court in the territory except in limited areas of federal concern.
In a statement hailing the development, Gov. John deJongh Jr. said the report was a “significant milestone in the development of our local judiciary," applauding Hodge and Associate Justices Maria Cabret and Ive Arlington Swan.
“In a few years we will be celebrating the centennial anniversary of the transfer of these islands to the United States of America from Denmark," deJongh said. "The transfer made us part of America, but far from true Americans. Since that day when the American flag first flew across these islands, so many people inside and outside the Virgin Islands have worked hard to earn this territory greater autonomy and true legal parity with the rest of the country," he continued.
Delegate to Congress Donna Christensen said her father, the late Judge Almeric Christian, "is smiling down on all of this and us with pride today as the Third Circuit and our entire community recognize and applaud the outstanding job you, Chief Justice Hodge, the associate justices and your staff have done in ‘standing-up’ the first-ever ‘nonfederal’ Appellate Court in U.S. Virgin Islands history,” in remarks during Tuesday’s presentation of the five-year review live via streaming video from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
The V.I. Supreme Court, the most recent addition to the nation’s high state and territorial courts, was made possible in 1984 when Congress amended the Revised Organic Act of 1954, the federal act that establishes local government institutions and the territory’s legal relationship with the United States.
V.I. legislation proposed in 2004 and enacted in 2006 established the high court. Before the establishment of the V.I. Supreme Court, V.I. Superior Court cases were appealed to U.S. District Court, after the Supreme Court was established, the Third Circuit had review by writ of certiorari, and with the enactment of this legislation (subsequent to the initial posting of this article) the U.S. Supreme Court alone has review by writ of certiorari.
Under the Organic Act, after 15 years the territorial Supreme Court will have the same relationship to federal courts and to the U.S. Supreme Court that state supreme courts have. The change would mean the V.I. Supreme Court would be the final arbiter of most cases, and there would no longer be review by the Third Circuit.
Once the Supreme Court is established, the Organic Act sets up a process where the Judicial Council of the Third Circuit shall submit reports every five years "as to whether it has developed sufficient institutional traditions to justify direct review by the Supreme Court of the United States from all such final decisions."
On Tuesday, the Third Circuit’s first report gave the thumbs-up to the V.I. Supreme Court, marking a milestone both toward greater autonomy and greater integration into the U.S. judiciary system.
Moving toward local judicial autonomy has been slow. The first laws of the new territory, the U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1921 established police courts in the towns of Frederiksted, Christiansted and Charlotte Amalie, according to deJongh’s statement.
“The territory’s legal independence was later expanded with the Revised Organic Act of 1954, and with the free election of governors a decade and a half after that. In the last several decades, we have seen a progression of empowerment, expansion of jurisdiction, and diversification of our territory’s judicial institutions. These incremental steps, all made in extremely deliberate, careful and reasoned fashion, have not only made our justice system more reflective of the ideals and values of our people, but also more efficient and accessible to the masses,” deJongh said.
The V.I. Legislature established the Territorial Court of the Virgin Islands in 1976, then it was another 15 years before it obtained jurisdiction over all civil matters, and not until 1994 that serious felonies were prosecuted in the local court instead of the District Court, according to deJongh. But if Congress follows the recommendation of the Third Circuit, the territory will soon have the same judicial jurisdiction and authority as a state court.
The full report can be viewed at: http://www.visupremecourt.org.
Editor’s Note:
This story has been corrected to state that before the establishment of the V.I. Supreme Court, V.I. Superior Court cases were appealed to U.S. District Court, after the Supreme Court was established, the Third Circuit had review by writ of certiorari, and with the enactment of this legislation (subsequent to the initial posting of this article) the U.S. Supreme Court alone has review by writ of certiorari.
