The name Anne-Marie Smith is in the news - if not every night - then every other night. As Chief Magistrate she deals with dozens of cases every month, and since her tenure in Belize started in 2011, she has gained a well-earned reputation as fearless, no-nonsense, and quick to hand down sentences and sips of matters.
But, after almost 6 years in Belize, Smith - who is a Jamaican - is moving on to the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in St. Lucia. It's a promotion for Smith and she will join Belize's Godfrey Smith who is also a judge on that court.
But who will replace her as the head of Belize's lower court. When we asked the Attorney General two days ago, he didn't know who would replace her - and was happy to not know:...
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General
"I don't know, I don't want to know. All I want to know is at the end of the day who they recommend to the Prime Minister for certain positions."
"I purposely do not want to have any knowledge of the proceedings or what's happening there, because I do not want it to even be said that somehow the government is trying to influence from the very beginning this selection process by the judicial and legal services commission."
According to our reports, Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser is a likely candidate to get the job. Reports say it is between her and Patricia Arana, but Fraser has seniority.
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