Gov. Charles Turnbull has capped his controversial decision to boot Judge Alphonso Andrews from Territorial Court by appointing attorney Darryl Donohue to the bench.
Additionally, Turnbull has renominated Territorial Court Judge Patricia Steele to the bench on St. Croix.
If confirmed by the Legislature, Donohue will take up a six-year term left vacant after Turnbull announced in mid-August that he wouldn’t reappoint Andrews. Donohue, 45, is an Assistant Attorney General in the V.I. Department of Justice on St. Croix, where he supervises the criminal-prosecution team.
Donohue’s confirmation by the Senate could be a rocky one because several senators, including Alicia "Chucky" Hansen and Adelbert Bryan, strongly criticized the governor for not reappointing Andrews. They claimed Andrews was ousted for political reasons, in particular his December decision blocking Beal Aerospace from developing public land on St. Croix to build its world headquarters.
Turnbull supported the Texas-based company’s venture.
Beal pulled out of the St. Croix project two weeks after Andrews granted plaintiff Hansen’s request for a permanent injunction against the deal.
The government and Beal both appealed Andrews' decision. Their cases have been consolidated and are pending in the local Appellate Division of the U.S. District Court.
Meanwhile, if Steele is confirmed she would be serving her second six-year term on the bench, where she is responsible for the Family Division. She is a 1980 graduate of Howard University School of Law.
Donohue was born in New York to Crucian parents, who moved back to St. Croix when he was 10 years old. He too holds a law degree from Howard University.
Both nominations will be considered by the Senate Rules Committee and if approved will be forwarded to the full Senate for confirmation.
