Orville Taylor, Contributor
'Vacillate', means to waver from side to side, 'vasectomy' means cutting the strings to one's manhood, and 'Vaseline' is a common name for petroleum jelly, generally used by burglars to facilitate forcible entry or exit through tight spaces.
Combine all these with 'Vasciannie' and it looks as if someone is trying to say and do two different things at the same time. The professor is made to look less a man and is being forced out. However, it is going to be a tight squeeze.
Daggers are being drawn and rumours abound about the impending dissolution of the Public Service Commission (PSC) because of its unrelenting recommendation that Professor Stephen Vasciannie, the current Deputy Solicitor General, should be promoted to Solicitor General.
If true, this will be the second time in a few months that a key public office is to be filled. It is also the second time that there is some sort of question over the appointment of a second in command who ought to be automatically recommended. In the case of the commissioner of police, the next in line is the deputy commissioner lady, who should be the best 'man' for the job. Perhaps, since the unjustified view is that most of the constabulary is crooked, then Jevene cannot be appointed because she is 'Bent.' Even worse, her married name is 'Brooks,' which, of course, are little crooked streams. Thankfully, names have nothing to with character, because Senior Superintendent 'Adams' would be the first man in line.
Avoiding undue interference
Curiously, Minister of National Security, Derrick Smith, peering over his glasses, has reaffirmed the independence of the Police Service Commission, pledging to abide by the independent recommendation of that body. He could say nothing less, because under the Constitution, the appointment of key government officers has to be done on recommendation of the appropriate commission. This is to avoid undue interference in the process and to protect the sanctity and independence of the public service.
It might not be clear what a solicitor does, as the word 'solicit' often implies that a person is involved in an act to procure illegal favours, often on the streets. Add that to the imagery of the opening sentences and one wonders whether in having this impasse over Vasciannie's appointment, the entire process of selecting our public officials is not being prostituted.
Up to 1970, Jamaica had a bifurcated legal system with two types of lawyers. The United Kingdom still maintains the tradition of having 'barristers' and 'solicitors. both are litigators in their own right, the solicitor is, typically, a lawyer who does mostly documentary work, such as probates, and does not generally make court appearances. Some do, however. Barristers, on the other hand, are courtroom lawyers who often have to sway juries with less law than dramatics and verbal gymnastics. Since the work of the solicitor is mostly the analysis and preparation of legal documents, he or she has to be very au fait with statutes and cases and he or she has little space for error because the ignorance of the law would be readily apparent. Interestingly, solicitors were traditionally very élitist and could only generally be so appointed after being articled to prestigious law firms. Simply put, it used to be an exclusive club.
With the formation of the Council of Legal Education (CLE) in 1971, the dichotomy between both types of lawyers ended. In 1975, the Norman Manley Law School graduated its first batch of the hybridised 'attor-neys-at-law.' Nevertheless, the Govern-ment maintains two main legal advisers.
First is the Attorney-General, who is a political appointee, responsible for advising the Government on all legal matters. On the other hand, the Solicitor General is a civil servant, whose appointment is done by the Governor-General, acting on advice of the PSC. Under the Constitution, there is no provision for the Prime Minister or any other politician to intervene in the process, because the intention is to avoid political interference.
Brighter than Cuban bulbs
Vasciannie is so brilliant that one has to wear sun shades to avoid being blinded by his 'brightness.' He has been a poster child for academic achievement in this country. In 1971, interestingly, the same year the JLC was formed, he gained a Government scholarship to Kingston College (KC). A nerd by every definition of the word, who still wears his KC-style afro, this 'wunderkind' broke more academic records than any other KC old boy.
He graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 1981, with a bachelor of science in economics, with first-class honours. This is still the best result in the history of the UWI, gaining the equivalent of As in 20 courses today. Awarded the Rhodes scholarship to Oxford, he again earned first-class honours, finishing top of the class at Balliol College with a bachelor of laws. Cambridge was next and he conquered all with a master of laws, finishing first overall in the class. After a starred doctor of philosophy from Oxford (with a research fellowship in law) he journeyed to New York. On being called to the New York bar, he worked with the United Nations and the prestigious law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell.
He is brighter than all the bulbs Kern Spencer and Phillip Paulwell distributed.
After returning to UWI in 1994 and promoted to professor in 2002, he has been consultant to the Attorney-General's Department and the Deputy Solicitor General for almost four years. If this is not enough experience and ability, nothing is.
But, if he is silly enough to want such a job where he is required to make his unsupportive employer look good, then perhaps he is not so bright after all.
Orville Taylor, Ph.D. is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
