Local attorney will be Acting Magistrate
Former Crown Counsel Kirsty-Ann Gunn is scheduled to return to the Cayman Islands on 16 April, this time as permanent magistrate.
A news release from the Governor’s Office on Friday revealed that Ms Gunn was one of five persons interviewed for the post after the Judicial and Legal Services Commission carried out an open recruitment process. The post was advertised locally and overseas in November.
Since Chief Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale left in October to join the Supreme Court of Turks and Caicos, there have been only two magistrates to deal with Summary Court matters.
Assisting with the work load will be attorney Eileen Nervik (nee Hydes), who is scheduled to be sworn in this week as Acting Magistrate. Called to the Bar in 1989, Ms Nervik will deal with civil cases, Youth Court and perhaps some inquests. She is expected to begin work on Thursday. Magistrates Nova Hall and Valdis Foldats will have more time to concentrate on criminal and traffic matters.
Ms Gunn will be coming to Grand Cayman from Bermuda, where she is employed as a Crown Counsel (Specialist) – a post she has held since September 2010. Prior to that, Ms Gunn served for four and a half years as a Crown Counsel in Cayman, appearing in Summary Court, Grand Court and the Court of Appeal. She prosecuted a variety of cases, including financial crime, sexual assaults and drug offences.
Ms Gunn also played an active role on the Drug Rehabilitation Court Team, serving as Crown senior prosecutor.
Before her move to Cayman, she worked as a Higher Court Advocate/Senior Crown Prosecutor in the United Kingdom for four years and as an independent barrister. She was called to the Bar in England and Wales in 1998.
This is the second appointment of a magistrate to the Summary Court that the governor has made on the advice of the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, which was established in the 2009 Constitution.
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