The last page may have been turned in the contentious saga of Sen. Alicia “Chucky” Hansen and Adelbert Bryan, chairman of the St. Croix Elections Board, as District Court Judge Wilma Lewis issued an order that Hansen is eligible to run for the Legislature in November.
A hearing on the issue had been scheduled in Superior Court, but was moved to District Court where Lewis issued an order without hearing further arguments. According to the document, the order supersedes the court’s Sept. 12 temporary restraining order in the case.
That order directed Caroline Fawkes, defendant and supervisor of the V.I. Elections System, to place Hansen’s name back on the ballot. In her order Wednesday, Lewis determined that the pardon issued by Gov. John P. deJongh Jr. “removes any impediment” to Hansen’s eligibility under Section 6(b) of the Revised Organic Act.
The saga began after Hansen was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file income tax returns in 2008. She successfully ran and was elected to the 29th and 30th Legislature. There was some grumbling in the community, but no legal action was taken.
In May, Hansen again was certified by Fawkes to run for the 31st Legislature in the November election. On May 19, Bryan filed a petition in the V.I. Superior Court arguing that she was ineligible to hold public office because her convictions constituted “crimes of moral turpitude.”
The Superior Court dismissed Bryan’s petition.
Bryan then appealed to the V.I. Supreme Court and on Aug. 28, the higher court agreed with Bryan and ordered Hansen’s name removed from the ballot. Fawkes notified Hansen of her disqualification on Sept. 2.
Hansen appealed to Gov. deJongh and was granted a pardon on Sept. 3. The Sept. 12 TRO ordered Hansen back on the ballot.
Judge Lewis’ opinion Wednesday said the pardon “restored a person’s civil rights” but “does not make amends for the past.”
“While rejecting a retroactive application of the pardon, the Court finds that the pardon removed the impediment to Sen. Hansen’s eligibility to be a member of the Legislature – as a person having been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude – from the date of the pardon forward,” according to Lewis’ memorandum.
Lewis commented on the Supreme Court ruling and said Hansen should have been allowed three days to file amended or new documents after Fawkes disqualified her the first time. She also commented that the Supreme Court’s written opinion had “no precedential or institutional value” and the “unpublished order is not considered by the Supreme Court to be binding precedent.”
According to Lewis, the court’s jurisdiction over the matter was justified because the plaintiffs alleged the refusal to place her on the ballot violated the Revised Organic Act of 1954.
Lewis also wrote that the Supreme Court concluded that the Superior Court has discretion to permit candidates to amend their nomination documents.
As for Hansen’s current status, Lewis ruled that since the 30th Legislature held no hearings and took no action regarding the question of her eligibility to serve, the court “must follow legislative action.”
“Using this case as an example, in the future, the supervisor of Elections – guided by the Supreme Court’s Aug. 28, 2014, decision – will know that the crime of willful failure to file income tax returns is a crime involving moral turpitude. Accordingly, any candidate who presents nomination papers with such a qualification defect would, pursuant to Sec. 411(c), be notified of the defect by the supervisor and provided with the opportunity to cure,” Lewis ruled.
VI Watchdog
Lewis failed to address that Section 412 says that once it goes to court, only the court has discretion, not the supervisor who was in collusion with Hansen. This ruling is as fake as the MBA Chucky presented to the voters in 2002. Wasn’t this the same Wilma Lewis whose ruling was rejected by the Third Circuit when she denied Coffelt Justice? I wish Bryan would let them rule.
DeJongh’s Atty General didn’t have squat to say when 3000 ballots went missing in STT. He said nothing again when $1.6 million went missing from the BOE under John Abramson. What does Chucky know about the BOE, Rulert Ross and Raymond Williams that would make the giver run to rescue her with a pardon?
The three branches of government appear rotten. A $180,000 19 year tax cheat named Hansen is in control, the court does what she says, and the governor is the ring leader of it all. The fix is in.
Why should decent tax payers and people who ever may need justice live here?
Unbelievable! This is a tragic blow to decency, honor and integrity in Government. It shows us exactly what a group of spineless wonders we have in our Legislature when they should have addressed this situation, head on, prior to “Chucky” ever being placed on any ballot immediately after her conviction on 3 counts of willfully defrauding the people of the Virgin Islands. But no, they did NOTHING and continued to do nothing because they were afraid of losing votes.
Governor DeJongh did all Virgin Islanders a great disservice with his pardon of this morally reprehensible woman and I can’t wait until his reign is over. His legacy to us is an even more impoverished, broken and dysfunctional Virgin Islands rampant with corruption and non functioning entities due to nepotism and cronyism. Hope he’ll be happy. We sure aren’t.
VI Watchdog
The people that re-elected deJongh have them themselves to thank for Chucky and the corruption in the VI. What else can we expect from a governor who we had known couldn’t keep his paws off tax payer money? He is worse than Chucky. He took $500,000. She only failed to pay almost $200,000.
VI Watchdog
The people that re-elected deJongh have them themselves to thank for Chucky and the corruption in the VI. What else can we expect from a governor who we had known couldn’t keep his paws off tax payer money? He is worse than Chucky. He took $500,000. She only failed to pay almost $200,000.
Chucky rules! She is the most brilliant senator in office.There is no doubt that she’ll be elected again. It is too late for the Senate to remove her because she is currently eligible to serve. Unlike Kenneth Mapp, Chucky only became ineligible due to the action of court judges. They created a defect and allowed her the opportunity to find a cure for that defect. Mapp made himself ineligible by not voting and residing in the VI immediately prior to filing as a candidate.Chucky won the ballot battle! Bert got a beating and must be bawling like a child.He had no mercy for his son or Chucky but she has the last laugh now. The supervisor is also vindicated.Bert made the right choice when he hand-picked her for the position.Please do not live here if you are a Chucy hater. Your blood will crawl when she is once again victorious in November. The fat lady is still singing….
The people will soon have their say and let that be the end of it. Will she stay or will she go! We shall see.
Hope he’ll be happy? We in the VI are all happy except the Chucy haters. Why don’t you leave and live elsewhere? The Legislature had no legal grounds to remove Chucky from the Senate since she only became ineligible for less than a week.The pardon cured her. Bless the soul of the governor. He made history and created a legacy that would be difficult to match. Governor de Jongh performed a great service. He’ll forever be honored by Virgin Islanders. It is my hope a court building is named after him. The pier in Frederiksted is named after a convicted felon, why not rename it after the governor?
I don’t think pointing out Chucky’s obvious weight problem is very nice.
Chucky is not the fat lady!
Judge Lewis made a wise decision. Let Bert take the matter to Third District Court if he is not pleased with her order.
Would I vote for Chucky…No! Do I believe that she has a right to be on the ballot…100% Yes!!! One of the most dishonest men, George W. Bush, was elected more than once; and despite his horrific record. He put American people in harms way and many many young people (including hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children) lost their lives because of the lies from that devil. Where was moral turpitude then? People are arguing over senators instead of fixing problems going forward. We need business ambassadors to go out there and bring new businesses back to our islands. The Dominican Republic has these ambassadors all over the world and you should see their export portfolio today. They make us look third world. Do you know that they just completed a $1 Billion subway system. Yusef and Plaza are chicken feed to Plaza LLamas, Jumbo Foods, Nacional Supermarkets, and La Sirena. Just to mention a few. Wake Up People!
Not the only one no. She does seem to be doing a lot of crowing and the description certainly fits so I naturally thought you, oh never mind. I must have mis-read what you wrote.
I’m amazed on how a senator was elected after she was convicted on three counts of failure to pay taxes, no jail time was given to her. She went on to sit on the legislature for several terms thereafter. Bryan took it opon himself to do something after the fact. She gets pardoned by the crooked governor, and within a week time after the courts deemed her ineligable she is put back on the voting ballot. One day after being placed back unto the ballot, she has a big fete to be held in October, hmmmm. Do you all really think she wouldn’t get back in that senators seat?
I’m sorry to say, there too many stupid Cruzians to not let that happen. If the population feels the way folks in this forum who comment on the matter, well it just may marginally make a difference. I’m setting myself for disappointment in This election, starting now.
Stand firm.
VI Watchdog
Don’t worry, honest tax paying people will not want to live here in November. Then there will only be tax cheats and moochers mooning off nothing.
Are you sure Chucky will win in November? The old fixed machines are gone….. And now everybody who never new she was a tax cheat knows now