The 36th Legislature of the Virgin Islands on Thursday confirmed Associate Justice Denise M. Francois to serve a 10-year term on the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands and Attorney Renee M. Andre to serve a six-year term as a judge of the Superior Court in the St. Thomas-St. John district, a press release announced.
Chief Justice Rhys S. Hodge announced Francois’ confirmation as the fifth justice of the Supreme Court, while Presiding Judge Jessica Gallivan announced Andre’s confirmation to the Superior Court bench, according to the press release.
Hodge said Francois’ confirmation marks a milestone for the Virgin Islands judiciary because it is the first time the Supreme Court will have all five justices seated since the court expanded from three to five members under Act No. 7888. He also noted Francois is only the second woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands.
“The nomination and confirmation of Associate Justice Denise M. Francois is a monumental milestone in the history of the Virgin Islands Judiciary,” Hodge said.
Francois was first nominated in 2013 by Gov. John P. DeJongh Jr. and confirmed by the 30th Legislature to serve a six-year term as a Superior Court judge. She was later renominated by Gov. Albert A. Bryan Jr. and unanimously confirmed by the 33rd Legislature in 2020 for a second six-year term on the Superior Court, the press release stated.
A graduate of Berkshire School in Massachusetts, Francois was among the first class of women admitted to Amherst College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1980. After returning to the Virgin Islands, she worked in the Department of Social Welfare as an investigator in the Division of Paternity and Child Support before serving as an economist in the Department of Commerce’s Division of Policy Planning and Research, the release stated.
Francois later earned her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law in 1984 and passed the California bar before returning home to join the law firm of Maria Tankenson Hodge, P.C. She later became a partner in Hodge and Francois, P.C.
For nearly 30 years, Francois practiced before local and district courts, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and various Virgin Islands government administrative agencies, the release stated.
“Associate Justices Maria M. Cabret, Ive Arlington Swan, Harrold W. L. Willocks and I welcome Associate Justice Denise M. Francois to the Supreme Court and are confident that her service on the Supreme Court will be tremendous benefit to the court and the people of the Virgin Islands,” Hodge said.
Andre will serve a six-year term as judge of the Superior Court in the St. Thomas-St. John district, the release stated.
Andre graduated summa cum laude from Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology before attending West Virginia University College of Law. While in law school, she was a W.E.B. DuBois Fellow and Brown W. Payne Scholar, the release stated.
Following law school, Andre completed a federal judicial clerkship with Judge Curtis V. Goméz before joining the Law Offices of Marjorie Rawls Roberts, P.C.
As a partner with the firm, Andre brings 18 years of legal experience in family law, probate, trust and estates, criminal defense, real estate, corporate transactions, contracts, economic development and tax matters, the release stated.
Andre is admitted to practice law in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Florida, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the U.S. Tax Court, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. She also previously practiced in West Virginia, the release stated.
Gallivan said Andre’s confirmation adds another jurist to the bench with a demonstrated commitment to “service, fairness and the rule of law.”
“Indeed, the entire judiciary welcomes Judge Andre and is confident she will serve with integrity and distinction,” Gallivan said.
