A day after the Free National Movement said it was "deeply disturbed" by the decision to reverse the policy as it regards an exclusive coroner's court, the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs released a statement saying Minister Allyson Maynard-Gibson fully supported the move.
Minister Maynard-Gibson also asked that the facts of the matter be accurately reported to the Bahamian people.
"It is anticipated that this reinstatement will expedite the inquest process for those Bahamian families awaiting their day in court," she said.
In a memorandum dated September 18, Chief Justice Sir Burton Hall announced that 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.
The statement from the AGﾒs office issued last night said this decision was "taken by the independent judiciary" and "grounded in law".
"Under the previous procedure, each magistrate can act as coroner," it noted, "in accordance with the provisions of the Coronerﾒs Act. Further, all magistrates courts are available for coroners inquests per the assignment of the chief magistrate."
The statement also said that Chief Magistrate Roger Gomez properly explained the merits of this decision in an interview with the Associated Press pointing out that the change will allow more magistrates to preside over more inquests which should allow the courts to address the backlog of pending coronerﾒs matters in the system.
He effectively gave the same explanation to The Bahama Journal.
The change in procedure came less than a week after Linda Virgill, who had been the exclusive coroner for nearly a year, announced that she would hold an inquest into the death of Daniel Smith, the grown son of American celebrity Anna Nicole Smith, who died in Doctors Hospital on September 10 while visiting his mother who had recently given birth to a daughter.
While Mr. Gomez had told The Bahama Journal that Mrs. Virgill acted prematurely in making her announcement, he denied that the change in the coronerﾒs policy had anything to do with the Smith case.
But the FNM thinks otherwise.
On Wednesday evening, the Official Opposition party said in a statement that it was deeply disturbed at the abrupt and unexplained reversal of policy governing the efficient investigation of sudden and unexplained deaths in The Bahamas.
"This abrupt change of policy must be fully explained to Bahamians," the FNM said.
Prior to 1993, the system of Coronersﾒ Courts had broken down."
"The system of having a specialized Coronerﾒs Court has worked well over the past 13 years," FNM Leader Hubert Ingraham said.
"The need for an efficient system to investigate sudden or suspicious deaths is a matter of grave importance to bereaved family members of deceased persons and to the peace and good order of The Bahamas.
"When returned to office, by the will of The Bahamian people, I commit that the FNM government will amend the Coroners Act to constitute specialty Coronersﾒ Courts, so that all unexplained deaths will be promptly and efficiently investigated, as has been the case since 1993."
On Thursday, Mrs. Virgill declined to comment on any issues relating to the Smith case or the change in the coronerﾒs court policy.
However, she was quoted in People Magazine insisting that there still needed to be an inquest into Smithﾒs death, although Mr. Gomez said there may not be if it is determined that Smith died of natural causes.
People quoted Mrs. Virgill saying, "This requires a coronerﾒs inquest. You donﾒt need to be a rocket scientist to make certain determinations at the end of the day. Certain calls may not be popular, but the buck stops with me."
The story was published on Wednesday, the same day The Bahama Journal learnt of the change in the judicial policy governing coronerﾒs inquests.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
