New appeal court judge takes his seat on bench

(CNS): Cayman Islands Court of Appeal Judge, Justice John Martin, QC, took his oaths of allegiance and judicial office Monday, ahead of the opening of the current appeal court session. Justice Martin, who is also a judge of the Courts of Appeal in Guernsey and Jersey, was appointed as one of three new Court of Appeal judges following an open recruitment process conducted by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) last year. At the opening of the current session, Court of Appeal President, Sir John Chadwick, welcomed Justice Martin on his first appearance and noted his past experience of appearing before Courts in the Cayman Islands.

Justice Martin joins sitting judges Justice Elliott Mottley and Justice Sir Anthony Campbell in what is a packed schedule for the appeal court judges. The panel will hear criminal appeals against convictions and sentences for murder, rape, firearms cases and robbery, as well as a number of high profile civil cases including the Bernie Madoff cases as well as the multi-billion dollar court room fight regarding Saad Investments and AHAB among others.

Before the judges began their work Monday Sir John Chadwick led a moment of silence in memory of Sir Richard Ground, a Court of Appeal judge who passed away on 22 February 2014.  He emphasised that the absence of Sir Richard (a former Attorney General in the CaymanIslands and former Chief Justice of Bermuda) was a great loss to the working of the Court. “He was and would have continued to be an enormous source of strength,” he added.  

Attending the oath-taking before Governor Helen Kilpatrick were President, Sir John Chadwick, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie, QC and the registrar, Audrey Bodden.