Senior Magistrate Rickie Burnett is to be appointed a High Court Judge on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC).

Burnett told the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Friday, March 3 that he is proceeding on leave next week, then after that, he is unlikely to return to his post.

Two usually reliable sources told SEARCHLIGHT that Burnett is leaving his post to take up an appointment as judge in a few weeks’ time.

Burnett shared news of his unavailability while discharging the juries that had been empaneled for the coroner’s inquests into the deaths of police sergeant Philbert Chambers and teenager C’Jae Weekes.

The juries were discharged to make way for another coroner to take over the inquests and restart them.

Philbert Chambers, a sergeant in the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force was killed on April 26, 2020 at Campden Park while trying to serve a warrant to search for a firearm.

18-year-old C’Jae Weekes died on February 6, 2022, a few days after he sustained multiple injuries including a broken spine, when the motorbike he was riding crashed during a chase by police.

Burnett has been serving as Senior Magistrate since December 29, 2017. His legal journey began when he joined the High Court Registry in 1984 as junior clerk before working his way up to deputy Registrar. He was called to the Bar in 2007, and was sworn in as magistrate on July 18, 2011.

Since 2019, Burnett has occasionally acted as a Master of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.

When SEARCHLIGHT reached out to Burnett on Friday, he said he had no comment to make at this time.

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