Dear Sir,

My first week living in Bermuda, nearly 35 years ago, I met three lawyers who had just formed a partnership. They are three of the most interesting men I would come to meet in my lifetime.

These lawyers were bantering about legal matters in a most intellectual and humorous way, and discussed whether a defendant had the right to plead “guilty”, given that that conclusion was really a decision that could only be made legally by a judge and jury.

I found their level of discourse to be quite amazing and immediately recognised that I had chanced upon exceptional minds.

The three men were Julian Hall, Michael Scott and Narinder Hargun.

My memory may be off a bit, but I recollect that Julian had brought Narinder to Bermuda having met him in London. They were the best of friends and continued to be friends throughout their lives.

So you can imagine my surprise when our Premier — another person who clearly has an outstanding intellect — should lambast the appointment of Narinder Hargun as the new Chief Justice, given that Narinder’s affiliations over the years should be so transparently democratic and wide-ranging.

Once in a while, a country gets lucky with this or that, and this is one of those times.

In a few years when we reflect back on the judgments flowing from Narinder Hargun, we will realise just what Julian Hall realised: that here stands an exceptionally fair-minded and brilliant legal mind, who will help Bermuda to be a better place.

DAVID W. BEDARD