| Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 2007 (18 years ago) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Virgin Islands |
| Composition method | Gubernatorial selection with legislative advice and consent |
| Authorized by | Legislature of the Virgin Islands via Act No. 6687, 2004 V. I. Sess. Laws 179 (codified at 4 V.I.C. ch. 2) |
| Appeals to | Supreme Court of the United States |
| Appeals from | Superior Court of the Virgin Islands |
| Number of positions | 5 |
| Website | Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands |
| Chief Justice of the Virgin Islands | |
| Currently | Rhys S. Hodge |
TheSupreme Court of the Virgin Islands is thehighest court in the territory of theUnited States Virgin Islands. The Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction over all appeals from theSuperior Court of the Virgin Islands, a trial level court, on January 29, 2007. The Supreme Court currently consists of aChief Justice and threeassociate justices,[1] but up to four associate justices may be appointed.[2] Supreme Court justices are each appointed by theGovernor and confirmed by theLegislature for a ten-year term. There is no intermediate court of appeals, and the Supreme Court does not have discretion in hearing appeals. Appeals of Supreme Court decisions were heard by writ ofcertiorari by theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit until December 29, 2012, but since then they have been heard by theSupreme Court of the United States inWashington, DC.
On June 19, 2012, after a review of finished cases, the Third Circuit recommended that appeals from the Supreme Court go to the U.S. Supreme Court instead of the Third Circuit. In July 2012, Delegate to CongressDonna M. Christensen (D-VI) introduced a bill to shorten the time from 15 years from the Supreme Court's inauguration in 2007 to immediately upon bill passage for this to take effect, and the bill passed the House of Representatives in November and the Senate in December 2012.[3] PresidentBarack Obama signed the bill into law on December 29, 2012, and all appeals from Supreme Court decisions from that day forward go to the U.S. Supreme Court.[4]
The court was expanded from three to five seats in 2016.[5]
| Name | Start | Chief term | Term ends | Appointer | Law school |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhys Hodge,Chief Justice | December 18, 2006 | 2006–present | 2026 | Charles Turnbull (D) | Rutgers-Camden |
| Maria Cabret | December 18, 2006 | – | 2026 | Charles Turnbull (D) | Howard |
| Ive Swan | December 18, 2006 | – | 2026 | Charles Turnbull (D) | Howard |
| Harold Willocks | November 8, 2024[6] | – | 2034 | Albert Bryan (D) | Antioch |
| Vacant[a] | August 29, 2016 | – |
Court decisions freely available to the public online, in a consistent format, digitized from the collection of theHarvard Law Library
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