Appellant, Jeffrey Browne(hereafter "Browne"), appeals the Superior Court order granting a motion, brought by Appellee (hereafter "the People"), for his continued pretrial detention. In this appeal, this Court is asked to resolve a vital, recurring issue which has caused a split among the judges of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands.2 Specifically, we must determine which of the conflicting statutory provisions governs pretrial detention of defendants charged in the Superior Court with first degree murder under Virgin Islands law. For the reasons which follow, we will affirm the trial court's use of section 3 of the Revised Organic Act of 1954 [hereinafter "the ROA" or "the Revised Organic Act"] to determine Browne's continued pretrial detention but will remand to the trial court for a proper section 3 determination of whether the proof is evident or the presumption is great, consistent with this opinion.
Supreme Court Of The Virgin Islands