A 1986 dispute over four parcels of land in Estate Dorothea has collected dust in a St. Thomas courthouse since 1990. Hundreds of similar open civil cases are in the crosshairs of Superior Court judicial nominee Ernest E. Morris Jr., he told the Senate Thursday.
A magistrate judge on St. Croix for less than five years, Morris outlined a very active caseload for the Senate’s Committee on Rules and Judiciary.
“I have heard more than 546 domestic violence cases, 217 stalking and harassment cases, 297 eviction cases, 472 small claims cases, 118 litter cases, and 110 misdemeanor criminal cases. During that time I have also closed more than 5,780 traffic cases and 305 probate cases. In addition to my assigned duties, I also voluntarily manage a mental health docket and conduct mediations. During my tenure I mediated 66 cases at no cost to the litigants: 29 visitation cases, 13 custody cases, 11 divorce cases, and 13 civil cases,” he said.
Morris also took careful aim at the Superior Court’s staggering backlog of probate cases, clearing more than twice the probate cases expected — 258 percent, he said.
“If my appointment is confirmed, I intend to utilize my case management skills to help reduce the significant backlog of criminal and civil cases on the extensive docket that I will inherit,” Morris said. “We need to give direct attention, almost solo attention, to civil cases.”
Because the Constitution mandates criminal cases be heard quickly, civil cases often fall to the back of the docket, Morris said. Having separate resources dedicated to civil cases could help settle the often complex cases, he said.
Four former Hovensa employees sued the then-oil refinery operator in 2002 over alleged unpaid salary and benefits. Far from settled, the case also isn’t forgotten. Administrative Judge Harold Willocks issued several orders in April. A few days later Senior Sitting Judge Renée Gumbs Carty ruled on a St. Thomas property easement dispute first brought to the court in 1995. Briefs in the Estate Dorothea case were last filed in May.
Some cases linger so long that the parties involved die, and their spouses or children carry it on.
More judges and clerks would help, Morris said, but recognized would require the legislature appropriating money for additional staff.
Harith Wickrema, the nominee to the Virgin Islands Conservation District for St. John, looked no further than the senators’ desks to find small to reduce waste. He pledged to give each senator a reusable water container if they stopped using one-time-use plastic water bottles.
While municipal systems and infrastructure for recycling and composting were important to both reducing products headed for the landfill and the carbon footprint of container ships bringing products in, small, simple deeds of daily like add up to a population more in tune with their environment, he said.
Wickrema, president of Island Green Living Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding sustainability and food security in the territory and beyond, said small children should have plants among their playthings. “We should have frequent conversations with ourselves about what products we consume: Do I need it? Do I even really want it?”
Legislatively, Wickrema was an advocate for banning styrofoam and creating rules to reduce single-use plastic restaurant cutlery.
“I have been advocating for the conservation and protection of the territory’s natural resources since my arrival here in 2008 – and indeed my dedication to sustainability and environmental responsibility spans my entire life, going back to my schoolboy days and throughout my career,” said Wickrema, an events manager born in Sri Lanka. “I use the word ‘resource’ versus ‘waste’ because one of the things that is very near and dear to my heart is changing the way people view trash. So much of it is a resource that has value.”
Had the territory followed plans already in place, green waste from the 2017 hurricanes would have been mulch in gardens instead of an inferno at the Bovoni landfill, he said. Puerto Rico, which followed the plan, now sells the U.S. Virgin Islands mulch.
“Where I grew up, sustainability was simply a way of life – people did without and there was very little waste. This instilled in me a concern and respect for the environment from a young age that continues to inspire and motivate me today,” Wickrema said. “There is so much we can accomplish.”
The committee voted favorably for both men and moved the nominations on to the full Senate.
