David Simmons (judge)
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Sir David Anthony Cathcart Simmons, KA, BCH, SC,
LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...
(born April 28, 1940) is a distinguished Caribbean jurist and politician: a former Chief Justice of Barbados, he also served as Attorney General.


Early life and education

David Simmons was born in Saint Philip, Barbados, the oldest child of Sybil a nurse and Kenneth, a teacher. He has 3 brothers, Robin, Peter (deceased), Philip (deceased) and 1 sister Janette. His godparents were Sir
Hugh Springer Sir Hugh Worrell Springer (22 June 1913 – 14 April 1994) was the organiser and first general secretary of the Barbados Workers' Union, and Barbados' fourth governor-general. He was a lawyer, politician and public servant. By an act of Parlia ...
and Dr
Hugh Gordon Cummins Dr. Hugh Gordon Hylvestra Cummins (2 February 1891 – 26 October 1970) was a Barbadian politician. He served as Premier of Barbados from 17 April 1958 to 8 December 1961 and was a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). In 1919, Dr. Cum ...
. He was educated at the Wesley Hall Boys' School, St Philip's Boys' School, and
The Lodge School The Lodge School is a co-educational government secondary school in Saint John, Barbados, established in 1745. The school has closed and reopened four times, and has been known as Codrington College, The College, The Mansion School, the Codrington ...
and then attended university in London, studying at the
London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...
1960–1965, graduating as Master of Laws (LL.M.) and being called to the bar at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
. While in London, Simmons also reported as a journalist on the 1966 Barbados Independence Conference.


Legal career

Simmons returned to Barbados and joined the chambers of Sir
Henry Forde Henry may refer to: People * Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal ...
, becoming a Queen's Counsel after 14 years of practice, a record time in Barbados. He also lectured in law at the
University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
, Cave Hill.


Political career

Simmons became active in the Barbados Labour Party. In 1971, he stood unsuccessfully in the St Philip North seat, before winning it in a by-election in 1976. He served as the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
member for St Thomas from 1985 until his retirement in 2001, including three terms as Attorney General.


Later career and honours

Simmons was made a Knight of St Andrew (Order of Barbados) in November 2001. On 1 January 2002, he became Chief Justice of Barbados. He is a Member of The Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission of the Caribbean Court of Justice and Chairman of the Turks and Caicos Integrity Commission. He has also served as Chairman of a number of national and international judicial bodies: * Chairman of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (1997/98); * Chairman of the EU/Caribbean Conference which developed the "Barbados Plan of Action" (1996); * Chairman of the Joint US/Caribbean Sub-Committee which developed a Plan of Action on Justice and Security issues, signed by President Clinton and Caribbean Heads (1997); * Chairman of the Regional Committee for the establishment of a Maritime Cooperation Against the Traffic in Illicit Narcotic Drugs in the Caribbean project (1999-2002); * Chairman of the Preparatory Committee to establish the Caribbean Court of Justice (1999-2001); first Chairman of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission (2003-2004); * Chairman of the High Level Task Force to supervise the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (2004-2005). In 2006, Sir David was elected as an Honorary Bencher of the Honorable Society of Lincoln's Inn. Simmons chaired the 2013
CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...
investigation which found FIFA Vice President Jack Warner guilty of corruption. In 2013, he was appointed Chairman of the Tivoli Inquiry into the violence surrounding the 2010 arrest of
Christopher Coke Christopher Michael Coke, also known as Dudus (born 13 March 1969), is a convicted Jamaican drug lord and the leader of the Shower Posse, a violent drug gang started by his father Lester Coke in Jamaica, which exported "large quantities" of mar ...
.


Personal life

Simmons married Marie McCormack, later Madam Justice McCormack (the first woman to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Barbados) ; they have a son Gavin and a daughter Lynne-Marie. His personal interests include calypso music and cricket.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, David 1940 births People from Saint Philip, Barbados Barbadian knights Barbadian Queen's Counsel Barbados Labour Party politicians Living people Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados Attorneys-General of Barbados Chief justices of Barbados Barbadian expatriates in the United Kingdom