Vernon Amy Tomes (22 February 1932 – 1999) was Deputy

Bailiff A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. There are different kinds, and their offices and scope of duties vary. Another official sometimes referred to as a '' ...

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

from 1986 to 1992.

Early life

Tomes was born in St John, Jersey the son of Wilfred James Tomes, a former Connétable of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

, and Florence Annie Amy. He was educated at St John's Elementary School and (on a States of Jersey scholarship) at

Victoria College, Jersey Victoria College is a Government of Jersey, Government-run, Independent school, fee-paying, academically selective day school

. He left school aged 15.

Legal career

In 1951, Tomes qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

of the Royal Court of Jersey. He practised in the same law firm as Peter Crill, who would later instigate his removal from office as Deputy Bailiff. In 1969 Tomes was appointed HM Solicitor General. During his tenure, he announced that birching would be abolished as a judicial punishment. He served as HM Attorney General between 1975 and 1985.

Judicial appointment and removal from office

He served as Deputy Bailiff from 1986 to 1992. On 12 May 1992, the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

announced to the States Assembly that Her Majesty the Queen had decided to remove Tomes from office as Deputy Bailiff from 30 June 1992. The Lieutenant Governor said the reason for Tomes' dismissal was delays in producing timely judgments, which had led to concerns that Article 6 of the

European Convention on Human Rights The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is a Supranational law, supranational convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Draf ...

was being breached. His Excellency stated, 'Over the last few weeks we have all seen or heard comments or claims that Mr. Tomes was a victim of a conspiracy by the Jersey establishment because he did not have the right background; that he had been unreasonably overburdened with work; and that he had not been given a proper opportunity to recover his backlog of judgments; that there had been a lack of proper consultation before serious steps were contemplated; and especially that the Home Office was interfering in what was rightfully the business of the States of Jersey. I have to tell you now that not one of these points has any firm foundation' The removal from office was instigated by the Bailiff Sir Peter Crill, who made a request to the United Kingdom's

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, more commonly known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom and the head of the Home Office. The position is a Great Office of State, maki ...

Kenneth Clarke Kenneth Harry Clarke, Baron Clarke of Nottingham (born 2 July 1940) is a British politician who served as Home Secretary from 1992 to 1993 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1993 to 1997. A member of the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative ...

. According Crill, Tomes was accused by the police of tipping off a friend about a drugs raid on a nephew's home and the office received complaints that Tomes was slow in producing written judgments. The Home Secretary announced Tomes' dismissal in the House of Commons on 19 May 1992. Crowds gathered in St Helier to show their support on Tomes' last day as Deputy Bailiff.

Political career

Tomes served two terms as a member of the

States Assembly The States Assembly (; Jèrriais: ) is the parliament of Jersey, formed of the island's 37 deputies and the Connétable of each of the twelve parishes. The origins of the legislature of Jersey lie in the system of self-government according ...

. From 1960 to 1969, he represented

St Helier St Helier (; Jèrriais: ; ) is the Capital city, capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel. It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island' ...

No. 2 District. During this period, he held several key positions, including as president of the Public Works Committee, Legislation Committee,

Fort Regent Fort Regent is a 19th-century fortification and leisure centre on Mont de la Ville (Town Hill), in St. Helier, Jersey. The fort is in close proximity to the fortified South Hill Engineers Barracks at La Collette and overlooks the 16th-century E ...

Committee, and Agriculture Committee. He also served as vice-president of the Prison Board, Natural Beauties Committee, and Finance Committee. Following his dismissal as Deputy Bailiff, Tomes ran for election as a Senator in the 1993 elections. His campaign focused on reforming Jersey's constitution to remove the Bailiff as presiding officer of the States Assembly. He topped the polls in that election.

References

Sources

*Alastair Layzell (ed), ''Who's Who in the Channel Islands 1987'' (Jersey 1987) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomes, Vernon 1932 births 1999 deaths People from Saint John, Jersey Jersey lawyers Judiciary of Jersey 20th-century British lawyers Deputy bailiffs of Jersey