The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

GOVERNMENT has announced the appointment of five new Queen’s Counsel, including lawyer Michael Scott, Grand Lucayan’s chairman.

The remaining appointees include lawyers Cedric Parker, Jean Ferron Bethell, Krystal Rolle and John Wilson.

They can now use the initials “QC” behind their surnames and enjoy all the other rights and privileges reserved for members of the Inner Bar.

The announcement was made in a press statement from Cabinet Office yesterday, which said Governor General Cornelius A Smith acted on the advice of Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis.

An attorney for 44 years, Mr Scott said he was looking forward to many more years in the pursuit of justice.

“I am pleased and grateful to be honoured with this singular honour from Prime Minister Minnis and the government of The Bahamas,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “I look forward to many more years of public service to the country I love and the pursuit of justice.”

In the past, Queen’s Counsel appointments have been criticised because of perceived political influence.

In 2015, former Prime Minister Perry Christie appointed 11 lawyers, including three of his Cabinet ministers, as Queen’s Counsel.

Those appointees included former Deputy Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, former Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson and former State Legal Affairs Minister Damian Gomez.

Wayne Munroe, QC, who was also named to the rank and later ran on the Progressive Liberal Party’s ticket, said at the time the decision should be free of the prime minister’s influence.

Others given the distinction at the time were lawyers Neville Smith, Anthony McKinney, Elliot Lockhart, Lester Mortimer, Maurice Glinton, then FNM Senator Carl Bethel and former Progressive Liberal Party Attorney General Alfred Sears.