V.I. Board of Elections Chair and V.I. Lottery Director, Raymond Williams. Photo Credit: V.I. LEGISLATURE.
Based on documents posted to the official website to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, Consortium journalists were led to understand that the Temporary Restraining Order sought by several members of the VI Board of Elections alongside a former candidate for Senate was granted on Thursday by Judge Alphonso Andrews.
It has since come to our attention that the documents may have been posted in error, and the Clerk of the Superior Court has since confirmed that Judge Andrews has not yet ruled either on the TRO application or on the request for permanent sanctions. The erroneous document has since been removed from the court's website.
The complaint seeking the TRO was filed on Tuesday by plaintiffs Collister Fahie, Lawrence Boschulte, Harriet Mercer and Atanya Springette. Following the recusal of Judge Carol Thomas-Jacobs, the case was reassigned to Judge Sigrid Tejo, who also recused herself from the matter due to her participation in the prosecution of one of the parties.
The matter was then transferred to the District of St. Croix, where it landed on the desk of Judge Alphonso Andrews, Jr. The judge has since scheduled an emergency hearing on the matter, slated for Friday morning.
The plaintiffs are seeking the removal of Mr. Williams from his role as chair of the Board of Elections, arguing that his role as Executive Director of the Virgin Islands Lottery is in conflict with his leadership of the elections board. The complaint also alleges that he previously admitted to fraud, making him ineligible to serve, and has conducted board meetings in a manner that violates various constitutional rights of other board members.
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