Spaulding hailed as formidable legal mind who understood service
Published:Thursday | November 2, 2023 | 9:05 AMErica Virtue/Senior Gleaner Writer
Winston Spaulding, the former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) minister of national security and justice who served in the Edward Seaga administration (1980-1986), was remembered in Parliament for his legal acumen and dedication to country following news of his death yesterday.
Spaulding died in the United States.
He was 84 years old.
A former Queen’s (now King’s) Counsel and attorney general of Jamaica, Spaulding served as member of parliament for St James East Central and St Andrew South East. Known for his trademark dark, tested glasses, Spaulding was highly respected in the legal profession.
Edmund Bartlett, leader of government business in the House of Representatives, said Spaulding was committed to human rights, having spent much of his time in his legal practice defending the less fortunate in Jamaica.
According to Bartlett, Spaulding was, “a Jamaican of extremely proud vintage. He was a man who walked humbly but with pride. A man who really understood what it means to serve and executed his duties with great assiduity”.
He said Spaulding was committed to democracy and the electoral process and he spent a lot of time and resources struggling to get the electoral reforms that Jamaica now enjoys.
Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson - who shared chambers with Winston and Anthony Spaulding, two former Cabinet ministers in different administrations – yesterday remembered Winston as an advocate of the finest quality.
“The Bar has lost one of its most passionate and articulate advocates. He executed well the constitutional functions of the (office of) attorney general and will be fittingly remembered for his legal fervour in pursuit of the ends of justice
A formidable advocate
According to Patterson, in comments to The Gleaner last evening, “At the start of his illustrious legal practice, Winston Spaulding appeared in many cases as a junior to his brother Anthony and myself from the Chambers we shared.”
Continuing, he said: “It was not long before he embarked on his own path to become recognised as a formidable advocate – diligent in preparation, persuasive in presentation, and resolute to win the day. As counsel, he never allowed his entry in the political arena to colour his legal opinions, always maintaining full respect for judicial learning and the process of conducting complex litigation.”
Veteran parliamentarian Karl Samuda, in paying tribute to Spaulding, said the late two-term MP was arguably the greatest crusader for the concept and principle of equal rights and justice for all, especially the less fortunate. He said his late colleague was an avid defender of the rights of every Jamaican regardless of the person’s political persuasion. He applauded Spaulding’s widow, calling her a tower of strength who spent quality time looking after him during a long period of illness.
Retired JLP minister and former Speaker of the House of Representatives Pearnel Charles yesterday also heaped praises on Spaulding’s wife, who cared for him throughout his long illness, which affected his memory.
“I considered him a very good minister who made his contribution and served his country well. He was friendly to all of us, and we were sorry when he had to go. Today I say goodbye to a friend, and congratulations to his wife, who has been a stalwart,” Charles told The Gleaner last night.
He told The Gleaner that he visited with his former colleague several times while he was in Jamaica.
The late Spaulding represented Charles and several others who were detained at Up Park Camp during the 1970s State of Emergency. Spaulding wrote, on Charles behalf to former Attorney General Oswald Harding to settle with the Commission, which deliberated on compensation for detainees under the State of Emergency in 1976. Harding, himself a lawyer, did not act on Spaulding’s advice.
The circumstances that led him to fall out of grace with then Prime Minister Edward Seaga remain unclear, but he was fired in 1986 from his substantive portfolio. It was during his tenure that the police squad Operation Eradication was formed in 1981. At the time, it was widely suggested that the force, under commissioner Joe Williams (1982-1984) and Herman Ricketts (1984-1991) had instructions to search, find, and eradicate supporters of the opposition party who were labelled part of the “lunatic left” and their ideology.
Many who considered themselves part of the “ideological struggle” fled the island or went into hiding.
As minister, and with responsibility for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), it was heavily scrutinised by then human rights group America’s Watch, which lamented the killings of more than 200 persons per year by the police force, per population size, when compared to much smaller numbers killed by law enforcement in larger populations.
Spaulding defended the police, in comments to the body, saying the country was suffering from a high crime rate, ideological politics that caused political tribalism and violence, and criminality from political strongmen whose reign of terror was characterised by violent crime, including murders.
Up to late last night, there was no official statement from the Government or the party from which he served.
Spaulding and his brother Anthony (Trench Town Rock) Spaulding were one of the earliest sets of siblings to serve in the House of Representatives, one on the opposition benches and the other in the Cabinet of the then JLP administration. Anthony pre-deceased Winston in 1998 and was a former People’s National Party (PNP) Cabinet minister of housing and member of Parliament for St Andrew South.