Gordon Rhea Pledges Reforms in Attorney General Hearing, Secures Senate Support

Attorney general nominee Gordon Rhea highlights his vision for reform, including diversion programs for nonviolent offenders, tackling public corruption, and digitizing the Department of Justice

Gordon Rhea’s extensive experience and contributions to the legal landscape in the USVI were used to justify the nomination of the career attorney as the newest Attorney General to lead the Department of Justice. He appeared before the Committee on Rules and Judiciary on Thursday as a first step to formalizing his new designation.‌

Mr. Rhea is the second individual to be nominated for the role of attorney general in the 35th Legislature following Ariel Smith’s resignation in March 2024. After Governor Albert Bryan confirmed Mr. Rhea’s nomination, the Tennessee native with over forty years of legal experience assumed the duties of the Attorney General’s Office on May 20th. He testified that his first week was spent meeting with key team members in both districts, "inviting them to tell me what was working well, to identify any problem areas and to give me their best assessment of how to improve.”

The “big picture issue,” noted Mr. Rhea, surrounds the “lack of coordination among the departments and agencies responsible for law enforcement and justice,” including the Virgin Islands Police Department, United States Attorney’s Office, Federal Investigation Bureau and local courts. Since his appointment, Mr. Rhea said he has met with the top brass of VIPD to forge a better way forward.