Rickie Burnett to be appointed as a Magistrate

Eleven years after setting out on a quest to pursue a legal career by enrolling with the University of London to study Law, Rickie Burnett is to be appointed as this country’s newest magistrate.{{more}}

The disclosure was made to SEARCHLIGHT by a reliable source.

When contacted, Judith Jones-Morgan, Attorney General; Justice Frederick Bruce-Lyle, a member of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and Burnett, the country’s Deputy Registrar, all declined to comment.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that Burnett, a resident of Calder, will be officially appointed in July 2011.

Burnett has been described as an outstanding public servant with some 27 years experience in the justice system.

In September 2005, SEARCHLIGHT conducted an interview with Burnett just a few days before he left St.Vincent and the Grenadines for the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago to pursue professional training leading to the Legal Education Certificate.

At the time, he said that he had joined the staff at the High Court Registry on April 9, 1984. On three occasions he was transferred from that department, but upon every transfer, he was re-transferred to the High Court Registry where he held the post of High Court clerk prior to his leaving for Trinidad and Tobago.

Burnett, who originates from Fairburn Pasture and spent most of his life in Mesopotamia, had told SEARCHLIGHT that his initiation in Law came when he was assigned to the High Court as its clerk. This post afforded him the opportunity to become intimately involved with the procedures of the Law, hear the arguments of lawyers and observe the interaction between the judges and the lawyers.

“That was my impetus!” he had stated.

“The judges and the lawyers always encouraged me to study Law. They felt I should go the full way,” Burnett remarked at the time.

The son of Batson and Sylvia Burnett, both deceased, said when the Eastern Caribbean Court of Justice started its Civil Justice Reform he was intimately involved from day one. The reform process resulted in the opportunity to attend four workshops on Civil Justice Reform, which also motivated him to study Law. Burnett is married to Maria Burnett and is the father of two daughters, Samantha and Rimaria.

As he embraced his future way back in 2005, Burnett confidently stated: “I am able and ready for the challenge. When you work at the High Court, that is where the Law is. The initiation I’ve had, not many young lawyers had that opportunity.

He had stated that his most memorable experience while working at the High Court was serving during the Fletcher Trial.

“That was more than a case. That was our justice system on trial, and with the presence of the American media, one had to be almost perfect with the procedure,” said Burnett.