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Address staffing issues at Supreme Court urgently, pleads outgoing Chief Justice

Published:Friday | January 26, 2018 | 12:00 AMLivern Barrett/Senior Gleaner Writer
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Gladstone Taylor
Justice Carol Edwards, puisne judge and assistant secretary of the Jamaica Association of Women Judges, sashes outgoing chief justice of Jamaica, Zaila McCalla, OJ, at a tribute to the island’s top female justice at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew, yesterday. McCalla will be demitting office at the end of the month.
Gladstone Taylor
Standing from left: Laurie Peters, Canadian high commissioner to Jamaica; Paula Blake Powell, senior parish court judge and president of the Jamaica Association of Women Judges; Justice Yonette Cummings, chancellor, Judiciary of Guyana and president of the Guyana Association of Women Judges; and Maura Barry-Boyle, acting deputy chief of mission, United States Embassy, applaud outgoing Chief Justice of Jamaica Zaila McCalla, OJ, moments before the citation presentation at a tribute to McCalla at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in St Andrew, yesterday. McCalla will be demitting office at the end of the month.
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The staffing situation for employees at the Supreme Court is one of several issues that needs to be addressed urgently, noted outgoing Chief Justice Zaila McCalla.

She said that the employees had not been reviewed in decades, despite the fact that submissions were made to the Ministry of Justice on behalf of the workers.

Speaking yesterday morning during a special sitting of the Court of Appeal to pay tribute to her before she demits office at the end of the month, the chief justice said that other issues that required urgent attention included the child diversion programme for juvenile offenders, the sexual offences court, and the restorative justice programme.

President of the Court of Appeal, Dennis Morrison; Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn; and Solicitor General Nicole Foster Pusey all paid tribute to McCalla.

Members of the Senate also paid tribute to the island's top female justice during its sitting yesterday.

The chief justice, who has served the judiciary for some 40 years, said it was a pleasure serving her country, which she did to the best of her ability.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com