Nassau, Bahamas – Breaking news now coming into Bahamas Press confirm, Michael Barnett, will be appointed the next Chief justice of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Late this evening the Cabinet office announced the resignation of Barnett as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs with effect from 22 August, 2009. Barnett is to become the next Chief Justice of The Bahamas following upon the retirement from that office of Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall, who is to take up an appointment as a Permanent Judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
Barnett will be sworn in as Chief Justice by the Governor General in a ceremony at Government House at 11 a.m. on Monday, 24 August, 2009, an appointment which should be met with protest by the people of the Bahamas!
Now we say this appointment now politicizes the judiciary because along with Claire 
Hepburn, the former AG and Member of Ingraham’s Cabinet and Rhonda Bain, a lawyer who worked in the Prime Minister lawfirm and who is Ingraham’s friend sweetheart, have also recently joined the Supreme Court bench. And now Ingraham appoints Barnett to an office that is to be the most independent of all offices in the land. WHAT A DUTTY SHAME!
Barnett, you would remember, ran as an FNM candidate in the last general elections. He lead the legal challenges for the FNM in the Election Court. He also served at the pleasure of the Prime Minister in the Ingraham Cabinet of the Bahamas! And now he’s appointed Chief Justice? A man with a clouded record of making lewd, obscene and vulgar sexual advances to women against their will? WHAT IS THIS!
Bahamas Press will now find it our business to deal with this position like never before. And whilst this NASTY appointment is made, we hear NOT A DAMN WORD AGAIN FROM THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION, Perry Christie!
The Cabinet Office also advised that the Hon. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be appointed Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs with effect from 22 August, 2009. Mr. Symonette, who previously served as Attorney General in an earlier Free National Movement Government, will serve in this position until a new Attorney General is appointed.
Mr. Barnett has served as Attorney General since July, 2008. Before that appointment he was a senior partner at the law firm of Graham Thompson and Co. The company quietly settled payments with two female employees who accused Barnett of lewd sexual advances.
Early in the year Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall warned the Executive of interfering in the work of the judiciary. Since his statements Ingraham has been making wild political appointment to the bench.
Agreed, Russell!! HAI has no regard for the constitution or anything else that is supposed to govern us. He is a real bully! But the Bahamian people need to follow suit and get their bully tactics together come next election and show him we have the power to land him FLAT on his proverbial back.
After the next Gen Elects a committee must be formed to investiagate the constitutional abuse by HAI.The man needs to go to prison as he is pathetic and take all of his cronies with him.
@Drama King
I am not shock at all; that is how Hubert goes he does whatever he fancy and doesn’t care about what impact it would have on the country as a whole. Once he is please with his the decision, that’s it. He doesn’t care what anybody has to say or how they feel about it. He doesn’t see anything wrong with promoting his friend’s sweetheart and a sexual predator, because they are his friends. All he want do is make sure he and his friends are happy and the hell with anybody else.
I had a unusual experience on Friday.. I went to Fitzgerald’s back to school function and I mety a man who said that he has been an FNM all of his life… He seemed to be in his early 50’s and he said if he lives to see the next election, he will vote for the PLP for the first time.. I told him that I thought that Earl Deveaux was a good MP.. He told me yeah but to his friends and family!!!!!
Then he said that he had 10 other persons who are close to him who also can’t wait to vote PLP for the first time…. But just like me he and his friends are NOT into Brave but seem to like PC!!! He said that PC is the man!!
Did anyone hear the spin minister Laing put on the word TRANSPARENCY on wednesday while on Jones’ talkshow????? He said that it had NOTHING to do with whether we think there is transparency or not…. When the PLP was in power he thought differently. He always thought then that it had everything to do with how people viewed their govt.!!!!!
That man I met also said that going into the next election only 2 seats will be safe and they are Brent’s and HI’s!!
Ya see BP, it’s things like this that makes me second guess PC’s comittment to this country.. He seems more comitted to his friends and fraternity!!! We need another leader who is comitted to country first!!!
HI seems to have absolutely no comittment to this country and all of its people but only to his friends, family and cronies!!!
This country is in major problems… BP, I thought that I would never be the one saying this but we need CHANGE!!! WOW!!! This country is hurting…
meritocracy transperancy trust all nice words but they need to be applied should we adopt public panels to decide who sits on the bench then we will all know who we have in the post and what there background is that entitles them to be there a fundemental fault with all the political partys is the lack of understanding with seperating church and state and state and judiciary all have seperate funtions and should not be tainted by political smog or even a hint of the stench. Im just an old fool but for years various people come and seek to lead us down a path to there independant legacy
I am still in shock that this man was appointed Chief Justice. This is a slap in the face to Anita Allen and all the others who have earned their stripes. Like I’ve said, Ingraham KNOWS that Anita Allen is up for this post, but he is beating her with her husband’s stick. Cant’t kick the dog so kick the cat. This is soo pathetic!!!
Now Ingraham is politicizing the judiciary by appointing his cronies, Barnett, the employee molester and Rhonda Bain, his best friend’s sweetheart. To lawyers TOTALLY unqualified (in terms of experience) for such posts. He will now stretch his arms of dictatorship in the Judiciary…God help us all!!
@cj
the last time i checked we were independent. although we are a part of the commonwealth of nations, hence the governor-general is the head of the commonwealth’s (queen elizabeth II) representative. but i’m sure you knew that and was being facetious.
perhaps a part of the reform and change buzzwords that are so often bandied about could be the formation of a republic of the bahamas, with no ties to the United Kingdom.
although…membership does have its privileges.
BP why are my comments “MARKED FOR MODERATION?” Why are yoiu screening my comments?
Is this happening to anyone else?
We are sorry about that ALTEC. I believe you didn’t sign on when you wrote your comment. As you know we don’t censure comments. Particularly from a person like yourself who is a radical activist and commentator on here.
@LIZARD
BP is wrong because he said in his Aug 18th post that Barnett was about to be fired
https://www.bahamaspress.com/?p=6824
Not everyone is drinking BP’s kool aid.
But i do agree with BP on this issue – Mr Barnett shouldn’t be appointed chief justice. This is a political appointment plain and simple. he is awarding a party faithful.
Think about the supreme court judges. they are all more qualified and experience than he and yet they are all overlooked. Wow, they must feel insulted.
I have to agree with BP on a second point – on this issue the PLP should raise hell. this appointment cant go down and the plp is quiet. They need to raise hell and by that i dont mean putting out no stinking press release. PC needs to tell the country and Micheal Barnett that if he wins the government in 2012 they will ask for his resignation. If PC and company lays low on this, i will be very upset. At some point you have to take a stand!
This move by HAI is tooo bold.
The FNM is handing the PLP the government on a silver platter in 2012, but the PLP is taking advantage of the FNM’s mistakes. The voters in New Providence are upset about the Arawak Cay proposal, crime, unemployment and now the appointment of HI best friends as CJ. If i was PC, i would summon the troops to Clifford park next week. strike while its hot.
Well I am not shocked at all. Hubert, like his former law buddy, takes pleasure is driving the country into chaos and strife then disappears when his damage is done. This is not new, this is the twin of Mugabe remember?
Bahamas Press/Editor
@Larry
wat is BP wrong on,you didn’t say?
Bahamas Press wrong again. My My what a surprise. What’s even more surprising is people continue to believe any and everything posted on this site. I guess it makes for good entertainment. Oh well.
mashup r we truly independent? If so why the need for the Governor General?
not to start another war with you johnny tucker. but britain cannot suspend our constitution. we are an independent nation. that was one of the perks of becoming independent. turks and caicos is a british protectorate. we are not.
@bp – burton hall was talking about funding for the courts, not political cronyism,when he spoke of executive interference i.e. give us money to do what we want, without us having to justify why and how we spend it. he was a political appointee himself back in the day.
having said that, clearly the decision is political and inappropriate, but before we get lost in the mire of plp and fnm (cough– johnny tucker — cough) bahamians should explore the need for widespread judicial reform as many attorneys have repeatedly said the process of appointing judges is not transparent. and that is just one of many problems with the judiciary.
of course i know my comments will be ignored as they lack political indignation.
@canesfins – you were right. again.
That’s must be why he did look so happy when I saw him in Sabarro. He knew this promotion was just a matter of time.
I told you it was a done deal now for weeks, even after you said it wasnt going to happen.
Did BP just recently run a story about a senior lawyer in the Attorney General’s office filing a complaint against Mr. Barnett for sexual harrassment? How is it that Barnett can now sit in the highest position in the courts have such fellonious allegations made against him by someone who is credible. WOW!!!!!
lOOKS LIKE GREAT BRITAN WILL BE SUSPENDING ANOTHER CARIBBEAN COUNTRY’S CONSTITUTION ON THE GROUNDS OF MASSIVE CORRUPTION.
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