Simmons made Bermuda's first woman Solicitor General seems curious indeed.

As an experienced senior member of the bar Mrs. Browne Evans is well aware that the law officers of the Crown must be seen to be above politics. Thus it is difficult to fathom what she might have had in mind when she pushed for Mrs. Simmons to get the post. It is even more curious because it had seemed that Mrs. Simmons was already well placed to be appointed.

Mrs. Browne Evans has been quoted as saying: "That department should not try to bring in any overseas persons. We caught hell enough bringing in an outside Attorney General.'' Just who the "we'' is remains unclear. Government caught hell from the Progressive Labour Party for bringing in senior policemen from abroad but it has not escaped public notice that the PLP was virtually silent on bringing in Attorney General Elliott Mottley from Barbados.

Mrs. Simmons, who is not allowed to speak, has quite correctly remained silent. She could not have been happy to receive public support from the Shadow Minister of Legislative Affairs who is a former leader of the PLP.

It may well be exactly as Mrs. Browne Evans has said and persons of less experience than Mrs. Simmons have filled the Solicitor General's post in Bermuda before. But she must have known when she made the remarks that she was risking Mrs. Simmons' career.

If a senior United Bermuda Party politician even suggested a candidate for a Crown legal post the PLP would rightly complain bitterly about the impropriety. Such a UBP step would end a public law officer's career.

What happens now? As we see it, the Attorney General and the Public Service Commission have a problem. If they were considering Mrs. Simmons, they will not want to give the impression that they are making a politicised appointment nor will they want anyone to think that the appointment was made at the behest of the Progressive Labour Party.

This is a curious event because the PLP has not learned from experience. Once before they pushed for Mr. Justice Earl Seaton to be Chief Justice and ruined his chances of selection. He went on to a distinguished career in other countries but he was ruled out from the Crown's top legal post in Bermuda.

It is never healthy for politicians to become involved in the workings of the courts and the Attorney General's Department especially where it involves appointments. There has to be independence and that independence has to be seen.