On Thursday morning, January 18th, a special sitting at the Anguilla High Court convened for fellow lawyers and other members of the judiciary to pay their respects to the memory of the late John Benjamin, KC. 
He passed away on November 26th, 2023 and was laid to rest on Thursday, January 11th, 2024. It was presided over by His Lordship, the Hon. Justice Ermin Moise.
Mr. Benjamin was a popular Anguillian lawyer and an Acting Magistrate, among many other capacities related to his legal profession and his social and cultural affiliations.
Several of Mr. Benjamin’s colleagues rose in the courtroom to deliver tributes in honor of his remembrance. They all related fond memories based upon their individual experiences with the soft-spoken jovial giant in the field of jurisprudence.
First, Mr. Benjamin’s daughter, Attorney Danielle Benjamin, expressed her gratitude to the Court for allowing her the opportunity to pay homage to her father, whom she called a “legal titan” alluding to a caption in The St. Kitts and Nevis Times.
“It is not an easy thing to summarize the life of a loved one in such a way as to feel one has accurately captured all the memories, meanings, and nuances of years gone by, and in so doing, paint a complete picture of a man who I simply called Dad,” Danielle said. “But I can say quite definitively that my brothers and I have thought of John Benjamin in the possessive sense, in terms of thinking of him as our father, as he was belonging to us. He quite clearly belonged to all of St. Kitts, Anguilla, and the greater Caribbean and international community as well.”
“Suffice it to say,” Ms. Benjamin continued, “my father, in pursuing a legal career, could not have found a calling more apt in fulfilling his desire for social change and upliftment. During his time in the legal profession, Dad not only mentored other future legal luminaries, but he was also an Acting High Court Judge of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court.”
Others offering accolades of posthumous compliments, some of whom Mr. Benjamin had mentored, included Former Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Mr. Hugh Rawlins; Retired Judge Mr. Courtney Abel; Attorney General, Mr. Dwight Horsford; Senior Magistrate, Mr. Keithly Benjamin; Attorney Thomas Astaphan, KC; and President of the OECS Bar Association, Attorney Jean Dyer.
Also making contributions to Mr. Benjamin’s memory were Attorney Michael Bourne who represented the Anguilla Bar Association; President of the St. Kitts-Nevis Bar Association, Ms. Kurlyn Merchant (via Zoom); Attorney Paulette Harrigan; Attorney Josephine Gumbs-Connor; Attorney Dustin Delany (via Zoom); Attorney Bernie Stephenson (via Zoom); Attorney Palmavon Webster; Attorney Kerith Kentish; and Attorney Jacynth Jeffers who made a contribution on behalf of the law firm Kelsick Wilkin and Ferdinand of St. Kitts-Nevis. She then presented the Vote of Thanks on behalf of Mr. Benjamin’s legal firm, Caribbean Juris Chambers and the Benjamin Group of Companies.
Of particular note was a tribute delivered via video feed, by former Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands, Mrs. Dancia Penn, OBE, KC. Mrs. Penn, who was a close acquaintance of Mr. Benjamin, had written his eulogy and read it at his funeral on January 11th.
His Lordship, the Hon. Justice Ermin Moise said: “Today we have met to remember the life of Mr. John Benjamin. It is not the Caribbean tradition to mourn, really, but we celebrate life. And so, today, we reflect on Mr. Benjamin’s life and what he has contributed to our profession.”
In his reflection on the memory of Mr. Benjamin, Attorney Michael Bourne commented: “He has gone out to blessed memory, and he is no longer with us, but His hand, his guidance, and his generosity continue to usher us through the days and years ahead. I’m grateful, Sir, to have shared my personal experience of Mr. John Benjamin.”
