Dec. 11, 2001 – St. Thomas attorney Tom Bolt was elected Dec. 7 as president of the V.I. Bar Association at a meeting held at the Divi Carina Bay Resort in St. Croix.
In his message to his colleagues, Bolt said that the association's central themes during his tenure will be public understanding of the law, continuing professional legal education and the utilization of technology in the practice of law.
"Promoting collegiality and professionalism amongst our membership will also be a key focus," Bolt said in a news release.
Other officers elected at the meeting include Samuel Gray as president elect, Joycelyn Hewlett as secretary, Maxwell C. McIntosh as treasurer, and Amos W. Carty Jr. as delegate to the American Bar Association.
Julio A. Brady, Tracey Christopher, Adriane J. Dudley, Gerald T, Groner, and Flavia E. Logie were elected to the association's board of governors.
Groner received the 2001 President's Award for his service to the association.
James L. Hymes III was honored with the Winston Hodge Memorial Award for his service to the Virgin Islands Community through the Bar Association's scholarship program for Virgin Islands law students.
The weekend meeting also included seminars on establishing a V.I. Supreme Court. Currently, all appeals from Territorial Court are heard by a court of two federal judges and a local Territorial Court judge, with the opportunity to appeal to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
"The time has come for the Virgin Islands to have its own court of appeals," said the Justice Department's Chief Deputy Attorney Alva Swan.
Bolt agreed, noting that it was important to educate the public on the need to remove "this last vestige of judicial colonialism."
