Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall has stripped Magistrate Linda Virgill of the exclusive designation of "coroner" and reverted to the pre-1993 practice whereby each magistrate performed the duties of coroner.
According to a Supreme Court Memorandum obtained by The Bahama Journal, which was signed by Sir Burton, the practice of designating a particular magistrateﾒs court as the Coronerﾒs Court ﾖ which began in 1993 with the appointment of Winston Saunders as coroner ﾖ has been scrapped.
"In the extraordinary cases in which it is necessary to hold an inquest, the facilities now available to accommodate a jury will be accessible to any magistrate qua coroner," Sir Burton said in the memo, dated September 18.
The chief justice did not provide a reason for his decision.
His memorandum came less than a week after Mrs. Virgill announced that she would hold an inquest into the unexplained death of 20-year-old Daniel Wayne Smith, son of American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith.
Mrs. Virgill had told reporters that she had set the inquest for October 23, but it now appears that that inquest ﾖ if it is held at all ﾖ would be heard by someone entirely different.
Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez confirmed to the Journal on Wednesday that Mrs. Virgill would not preside over an inquest into Daniel Smithﾒs death.
"Because of the remarks she made, she wonﾒt be hearing (that inquest)," he said.
The chief magistrate insisted that the change was not a vote of "no confidence" in Mrs. Virgillﾒs abilities, pointing out that she will still be a magistrate, and still be able to hear inquests.
"She wonﾒt be hearing that one," he admitted when asked about the Daniel Smith matter.
Chief Magistrate Gomez also denied that the change was punishment for Mrs. Virgill speaking to the press about the case. Asked whether it was injudicious of a magistrate to speak with reporters as Mrs. Virgill did, he said only that magistrates are allowed to talk to the press.
"But you have to be very careful," he said. "You may just prejudice the whole case."
The memo addressed "to all Stipendiary and Circuit Magistrates" and titled "Matters arising under the Coronerﾒs Act, Chapter 56," states "it is notified that with immediate effect the practice that was instituted in 1993 of designating a particular magistrates court as the Coronerﾒs Court will be discontinued."
In its place, Sir Burton stated that the prior practice is reinstated. Before a particular court was designated as the Coronerﾒs Court, each magistrate performed the duties of coroner in accordance with the provisions of Section Three of the Act.
The memo also provides that the office of the Chief Magistrate will receive all reports of completed investigations by the police into those deaths with which the Coronerﾒs Act is concerned, and the Chief Magistrate will assign particular matters to any magistrate.
In the Daniel Smith matter, Chief Magistrate Gomez said that an inquest might not be needed. Once the awaited toxicological reports come in, he said, they would be forwarded to the police and the Office of the Attorney General.
He said that if the Attorney General feels an inquest is called for, Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson would send the file to his office to assign.
Mrs. Maynard-Gibson was not available for comment and had not returned phone calls up to press time.
Soon after Daniel Smithﾒs unexplained death on September 10, Mrs. Virgill fielded questions from reporters at an impromptu press conference, designating the death "suspicious," announcing that she knew the cause of death, but would await confirmation from a toxicology report, and that she would hold an inquest into Danielﾒs death.
The coroner caught flak from a number of lawyers, including Michael Scott and Anthony McKinney, who represent Anna Nicole Smith and Howard K. Stern respectively, for commenting to the press at all, but particularly for dubbing the death "suspicious" and stating that she would hold an inquest into the affair.
Messrs. Scott and McKinney felt that the coronerﾒs announcement was premature, a position supported by Chief Magistrate Gomez.
In fact, Mr. Scottﾒs reaction to the coronerﾒs remarks was blunt.
"To the extent that she says she knows the cause of death, sheﾒs wrong," he said, pointing out that the death certificate issued for Daniel lists the cause of death as "pending."
The coronerﾒs announcement was also greeted with consternation by others who have cases pending before the coronerﾒs court, suggesting that the Daniel Smith matter may have "jumped the line," so to speak.
The chief magistrate said that the move by Sir Burton to have all magistrates handling coronerﾒs duties ought to speed up the hearing of what is acknowledged to be a heavy backlog of cases.
By: Quincy Parker, The Bahama Journal
