In Re: Lambertsen
This text of 2025 V.I. 16 (In Re: Lambertsen) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.
Opinion
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
In Re: SCT-Civ-2025-0205 Re: SX-2025-MC-00046 Richard H. Lambertsen, Petitioner.
NOTICE OF ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT/ORDER
TO: Justices of the Supreme Court Judges and Magistrate Judges of the Superior Court Richard Lambertsen, Ph.D., V.M.D. Dalila E. Patton, Esq., Acting Clerk of the Supreme Court Tamara Charles, Clerk of the Superior Court Supreme Court Law Clerks Supreme Court Secretaries Order Book Westlaw Lexis/Michie
Please take notice that on August 20, 2025 a(n) ORDER dated August 20, 2025, was entered by the Clerk in the above-entitled matter.
Dated: August 20, 2025
DALILA E. PATTON, ESQ. Acting Clerk of the Court
By: Deputy Clerk II For Publication
IN RE: ) S. Ct. Civ. No. 2025-0205 ) Re: Super. Ct. MC. No. 46/2025 (STX) RICHARD LAMBERTSEN ) )
On Petition for a Writ of Mandamus Division of St. Croix Before: Hon. Ernest J. Morris, Jr., Superior Court Judge Considered and Filed: August 20, 2025
Cite as 2025 VI 16
BEFORE: RHYS S. HODGE, Chief Justice; MARIA M. CABRET, Associate Justice; HAROLD W.L. WILLOCKS, Associate Justice.
APPEARANCES:
Richard H. Lambertsen Christiansted, U.S.V.I. Pro se
ORDER OF THE COURT
PER CURIAM.
¶1 THIS MATTER is before the Court on a Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed by Richard
H. Lambertsen, Ph.D., V.M.D., pro se (hereinafter “Petitioner”). Petitioner requests that the Court
order the nominal respondent—the Superior Court Judge that presided over Lambertsen v. Brooks,
SX-2025-MC-00046—“to vacate[:] (1) [the] order of July 28, 2025 denying Petitioner’s Petition In re: Lambertsen S. Ct. Civ. No. 2025-0205 2025 VI 16 Order of the Court Page 2 of 5
for a Writ of Mandamus (under Case No. SX-2025-MC-00046), and (2) his order of August 6,
2025 denying Petitioner’s motion to vacate said July 28, 2025 order.”1 This petition will be denied.
PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND2
¶2 Based upon “the lethal risk that he faces—and probably will continue to face—Petitioner,
on January 21, 2025, [] applied for a permit to carry a firearm in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where he
now resides.” Petition at 3.3, 4 After over four months passed without a response, on June 4, 2025,
1 On August 12, 2025, Petitioner filed a “Supplement to Petition for Writ of Mandamus” discussing the nominal respondent’s denial of his petition in SX-2024-MC-0004 and requesting that this Court “take into account …what appears to be an extremely inappropriate bias against me on the part of [the nominal respondent].” On August 13, 2025, Petitioner filed “Supplement No. 2 to Petition for Writ of Mandamus” in which he “respectfully requests that the Court take note of the affidavit attached that amplifies the argument given in his petition and the first supplement.” 2 This section is taken from the portion of the petition titled “Facts Necessary to Understand Petition.” 3 Petitioner describes the origins of the lethal risk as follows: Petitioner Richard H. Lambertsen is a veterinarian, consultant, investor, and philanthropist. His background and training are in biology and veterinary medicine. He holds a Ph.D. and V.M.D. degrees obtained from the University of Pennsylvania under the Medical Scientists Training Program of the National Institutes of Health. He has a role as a de facto[] agent of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. This stems both from correspondence of record and rights granted him under both the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Petitioner’s exercise of those rights reflects in particular his personal religion as a conscientious objector to war.[] In the present matter, he is leading, as private initiatives: 1) the initiative to conserve the species called Homo Sapiens Linnaeus, 1758; 2) the related nonviolent anti- terrorism initiative; and 3) work to get Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, prosecuted by his own government for ordering a war of aggression against Ukraine. In parallel, as a veterinarian, he leads the Veterinary Ship Initiative. Some time ago these initiatives of Petitioner progressed to the point where it became obvious that he has a need for economical personal security, not least to foil ongoing evident organized criminal attempts to bring about his premature death. Petition at 2-3. 4 Petitioner states that the lethal risk was In re: Lambertsen S. Ct. Civ. No. 2025-0205 2025 VI 16 Order of the Court Page 3 of 5
Petitioner filed a petition for writ of mandamus in Superior Court requesting that the court direct
the Virgin Islands Police Commissioner Mario Brooks to “approve immediately the permit
Petitioner had applied for.” Id. By Order entered on July 17, 2025, the nominal respondent required
the respondent to file an informative motion advising whether the Police Commissioner had
granted or denied the Petitioner’s application for a firearms license. Id. at 4. On July 24, 2025, the
Government of the Virgin Islands filed response indicating that the permit had been denied and
filed a motion to dismiss the petition as moot. Id. On July 28, 2025 the nominal respondent granted
that motion. Id. Petitioner then filed a motion to vacate that order, which the nominal respondent
denied on August 6, 2025. Id. at 4-5. One day later, Petitioner filed this petition.
DISCUSSION
¶3 “Pursuant to title 4, section 32(b) of the Virgin Islands Code, this Court has jurisdiction
over original proceedings for mandamus. However, a writ of mandamus is a drastic remedy which
should be granted only in extraordinary circumstances. To obtain a writ of mandamus, [the
petitioner] must establish that his right to the writ is clear and indisputable and that he has no other
adequate means to attain the desired relief.” In re Elliot 423, 427-428 (V.I. 2010) (citing In re
LeBlanc 49 V.I. 508, 516- 517 (V.I. 2008)). “Furthermore, ‘even if the first two prerequisites have
been met, the issuing court, in the exercise of its discretion, must be satisfied that the writ is
[a]mplified more recently by an evident mortal threat conveyed to him on his birthday, 11 February 2025 – the same day that Petitioner’s faither, Christian J. Lambertsen, M.D., was murdered in 2011 after telephoning him and stating “whatever you decide to do, I am your backup” – and evidently repeated at approximately 7:00 p.m. on 28 July 2025 after Petitioner submitted to the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands his response to the “Informative Notice and Motion to Dismiss Petition” of the Government of the Virgin Islands. Petition at 3, n.3. In re: Lambertsen S. Ct. Civ. No. 2025-0205 2025 VI 16 Order of the Court Page 4 of 5
appropriate under the circumstances.’” Id. (quoting Cheney v. U.S. Dist. Court, 542 U.S. 367, 380-
81 (2004)).
¶4 In his statement of the reason that this writ should be issued, Petitioner only states that
“doing so is critical to maintaining the integrity of the judicial system of the United States Virgin
Islands.” To the extent that this reason refers to his previous “Facts Necessary to Understand the
Petition” (quoted supra at notes 3 & 4) those statements only vaguely reference various laws and
do not explain how these laws relate to the issuance of a firearm license in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
let alone his indisputable right to receive one. Moreover, Petitioner has not explained why an
appeal of the orders at issue would not provide an alternate means to obtain the relief he seeks.
See 4 V.I.C. § 32(a); V.I.R.APP.P. 4, 5(a).
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