Friday, September 13, 2024

6 THE WEEKEND STAR NEWS • September 13 - 15, 2024 @JamaicaStar www.facebook.com/JamaicaStar • www.jamaica-star.com TIFFANY TAYLOR STAR Writer V eteran attorney-at-law Valerie Neita Robertson has signalled her in- tention to migrate to North America “because Jamaica is no longer a place to live”. Neita Robertson made the eye- popping comment in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Wednesday. The lawyer, who unsucessfully contested for a seat in Jamaica’s Parliament in 2020, also signalled her intention to leave the legal fraternity after 47 years. “I’ve had enough!,” the King’s Counsel said. “I am finished. I have given my years of service to this profession. I’m done, I’m spent. I’ve had it, I think I need to retire.” Neita Robertson had sought the leave of Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court to bring attention to a raft of issues that she said is affecting the efficiency of the court system. Among the grouses are the lack of restroom facilities, secure parking, and an office space to accommodate consultation with clients at the Half-Way Tree, St Andrew-based court. ”This is outrageous! To have a courthouse and you have women lawyers and nowhere to go and ‘wee-wee’? [It’s] crazy and it’s not just here alone. The big, big Supreme Court, there is a room that the Bar is said to be responsible for, and none of the toilets can flush. They are filthy. I have to run down the road to find a place to wee-wee because I cannot do what a man does, and I don’t know when that day will ever come,” she said. The veteran attorney continued her almost 10-minute tirade, stressing that she spent quite a bit of time driving around Half-Way Tree trying to secure parking so she could attend court. Her sentiments were echoed by fellow senior counsel Hugh Wildman, who indicated that he parked in York Plaza along Hagley Park Road and walked to the courthouse, which is located along Maxfield Avenue. ”I have complained [a] myriad of times about the parking,” Wildman chimed. Neita Robertson shared that she has raised the concerns on several occasions, and has even written to administrators to seek a resolution. ”I am just making one last effort because I know where your [Judge Burrell’s] heart [is] and your mind rests. I am not coming back, judge; today is my last day. I have written, I have begged, I have beseeched, and nobody is listening. There are a lot of government buildings around and if I have to pay to park, I am okay, because they will be collecting a little change, but nobody cares any more. That’s where my country has reached. I am sorry for the young people in this country, but I cannot fight for them any more. You know what I going do? Migrate! That’s what I will do. Migrate, because Jamaica is no longer a place to live,” the senior attorney bellowed. “I am sorry for all the people in here, and let me tell you, half of them going migrate and follow me. I will meet you in New York,” she said, eliciting laughter from members of the public, police and other members of the Bar present in the courtroom. ”The Government must provide parking because I pay my taxes out of what I earn. I don’t know what they do with it, but they need to do something,” she said. Burrell indicated that she will be engaging stakeholders to have the matters reviewed. “I must apologise for the discomfort and the indignity that we have caused you. Your stellar service to the Bar, to the country, I don’t think I need to narrate it, and it’s a very sad day when counsel has to come here in open court and voice discontent with respect to the most basic of facilities. I am profoundly embarrassed by the state of affairs and I must escalate this. It concerns you, so it concerns us,” the senior jurist said. ‘I’m done!’ Neita Robertson ready to leave Jamaica Valerie Neita Robertson “I am finished. I have given my years of service to this profession. I’m done, I’m spent. I’ve had it, I think I need to retire.” Get a SPEEDY DIVORCE FOR INFORMATION CONTACT KGN: (876) 924-9199/(876) 819-2715 (FLOW) MAY PEN: (876) 902-7858-9 / 796-5455 (FLOW). MANDEVILLE: (876) 625-2293 WHATSAPP: (876) 909-5524 EMAIL: owljamaica@yahoo.com Website: www.owljamaica.com For reviews, Google: speedy divorce lawyer in Jamaica