A clerk with the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has filed a civil suit against a St. Thomas judge she claimed shook her so violently it required medical attention.
The clerk, Joanna Daniel, said her boss, Magistrate Judge Paula Norkaitis, “became irate” because Daniel had neglected to mute a telephone while she and several others prepared for arraignments.
Norkaitis allegedly grabbed Daniel by the shoulders Jan. 19, 2024, and shook her, “dislodging her shoulder and damaging her rotator cuff,” according to court records filed Friday afternoon.
The alleged attack happened in front of two deputy marshals and an attorney for the territorial government, Daniel said in her suit.
“The attack was abrupt, violent, and caused great apprehension and physical injury,” the suit claims. Daniel said she “became dazed and disoriented as a result.”
Daniel said she complained to the Superior Court about the attack but little, if anything, had been done to monitor or punish Judge Norkaitis’ “unchecked” office behavior, according to the suit.
Daniel asked for a jury to hear the case and assign monetary damages from Norkaitis and the court. On Monday, the case was changed to a nonjury civil action and assigned to Judge Kathleen Mackay.
It was unclear how long Daniel had worked at the court. Norkaitis was appointed in October 2021 to a four-year term ending in December.
Norkaitis is a graduate of Duke University and George Washington University’s National Law Center. She’s lived in the Virgin Islands for 28 years and worked for the Territorial Public Defender’s office for nine years.
