ST. CROIX — The Virgin Islands community is mourning the death of St. Croix attorney, author, and public servant Michael Joseph, who has died at the age of 76.
A prominent fixture in the territory’s legal community for decades, Joseph was widely recognized for his steadfast defense advocacy, impactful civil litigation, and dedicated contributions to the local electoral process as a member of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections.
Following the news of his death, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. issued a statement expressing profound grief and extending condolences on behalf of the Virgin Islands government.
“Michael was not only a respected attorney and public servant, but also a personal friend whose counsel I relied on through the years,” Bryan said in a statement. “His passing is a loss I feel personally, and it is also a loss for St. Croix and for the broader Virgin Islands community.”
Bryan said Joseph’s life and work were deeply connected to the law, public service, and the history of the Virgin Islands. During his decades-long legal career, Joseph appeared in some of the territory’s most significant courtrooms, including the District Court of the Virgin Islands and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He also served as acting federal public defender, where Bryan said he earned a reputation as a dedicated advocate, particularly in criminal defense, “where the work is often difficult but essential to justice.”
Bryan noted that Joseph also represented 86 employees in an early retirement lawsuit against the Government Employees' Retirement System that secured millions of dollars in relief.
Joseph was also the author of “Fountain Valley 1972.” Bryan said the book “added to the public record on one of the most painful and consequential chapters in St. Croix’s modern history.”
Tanya-Marie Singh, WTJX chief executive officer, remembers Joseph fondly.
“I worked as a reporter at Channel 8 when Mikey’s brother Rafie, who was one of the ‘Fountain Valley Five,’ had his sentence commuted by Governor Farrelly in 1994,” Singh said. “Mikey advocated relentlessly for his brother’s release. Farrelly received major backlash for that commutation. The Alexander Farrelly Justice Center had just officially opened the year before and groups marched in front of the Center demanding that Farrelly’s name be taken down. Mikey approached me to conduct Rafie’s first interview. I think he wanted to humanize his brother and I wanted the story. I’ve been friends with Mikey ever since. I’m saddened by his passing.”
Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach also issued a statement, noting that Joseph was unapologetically proud of his Virgin Islands heritage.
“With almost 50 years of service in the legal field, he was known for his relentless tenacity as a criminal defense lawyer and civil litigator,” Roach stated. “Attorney Joseph was a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys whose brilliance and prudence required strategic and careful preparation by his opponents.”
Attorney Jeffrey Moorhead, Joseph’s friend and colleague, said Joseph gave him his first job out of law school. He said he loved Joseph like a brother, describing him as a “real fighter.”
“We tried a lot of cases in the ’80s and ’90s,” Moorhead wrote via text to WTJX. “Michael Joseph was the absolute best!”
Senator Novelle Francis Jr., in a statement, described Joseph as a friend, mentor, and staunch defender of justice. Over the course of his law enforcement career, Francis said he was privileged to witness Joseph’s impassioned advocacy for his clients in court. He said he will mostly remember Joseph’s “unfailing mastery” of the Virgin Islands Code and his “grace and generosity” in explaining courtroom proceedings to him as a young police officer.
“His legacy will live on through the countless lives he touched, the clients he defended, and the standard of excellence he set for the legal profession,” Francis stated.
Alecia Wells, former Board of Elections member and chair who was Joseph’s longtime friend, said she met him in the 1980s when he represented a friend of hers in a legal case. She recalled her joy when he was elected to the Board of Elections in 2024, representing the St. Croix District.
“He was able to bring a sense of equilibrium to the board when we’ve had discussions as to what we should be doing as a board, how we can carry out the mandate of the board, how we should support or not support the supervisor, and I thought that he was always a breath of fresh air,” Wells said. “He had a personal knack for offering his advice.”
Wells noted that even when facing health challenges in recent years, Joseph’s dedication to the public never wavered.
“I knew that he had gone through certain medical incidences that precluded him from being fully present at our board meetings, but sometimes when he couldn’t be there in person, he would call and still take part in the board’s discussion,” she said.
Joseph’s death creates a vacancy on the 14-member Board of Elections. According to the Virgin Islands Code, Title 18, Chapter 3, Subsection 41(f), the board must certify a replacement within 30 days by selecting the candidate from the same political party who received the next highest number of votes in the 2024 election. If no such candidate is available, the board must certify the next highest vote-getter regardless of party. Joseph was elected to the board as a Republican.
