A Bermudian veterinarian who was denied a top Government vet job has won a fresh day in court, continuing an almost 16-year legal battle.Susann Smith’s discrimination case against the Environment Minister began in 1997, when her Government contract was terminated.Dr Smith was the first black Bermudian woman to qualify as a vet when she completed Tuskegee University’s veterinary programme.Initially tipped for the job of Government Vet, Dr Smith failed to pass US licensing exams to qualify her as a private veterinarian.She has argued that her Jamaican licence to practice was unfairly treated as unsuitable in Bermuda.Specifically, she complains that she was discriminated against on grounds of race and national origin.After a protracted fight to take her case before the Human Rights Commission, Dr Smith brought her complaint before an HRC Board of Inquiry last year, but the case was dismissed in July.Supreme Court Judge Stephen Hellman has found that Dr Smith has a right to appeal the Board’s decision.Mr Justice Hellman’s ruling rests in part on the distinction between the legal definitions of an “order” and a “decision”.He found that she has a constitutional right to challenge the dismissal of the complaint, and that the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear her appeal of it.