Justice Dennis Morrison hailed as a master teacher, model judge
Published:Saturday | February 10, 2024 | 12:09 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
At a special sitting of the Court of Appeal on Friday, several members of the judiciary paid tribute to the late Justice Cecil Dennis Morrison, hailing him as a legend in the legal profession in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Morrison passed away on February 3 at age 73.
Justice Patrick Brooks, president of the Court of Appeal, opened the session, noting that Morrison’s work ethic was “phenomenal”.
“Apart from being perhaps the most prolific judgment writer on the court, his judgments were ... so impactful that many are quoted as the basis for essential principles of law,” he stated.
Morrison, according to Brooks, was a “model” judge, who was assiduously devoted to the law and demonstrated “tenacity in attaining the objectives he perceived that the court could achieve”.
Brooks also saluted the late jurist for his leadership qualities.
Morrison, a former president of the Court of Appeal, was said to be a “calm” and “gentle” leader, who had a strong sense of humility and made the atmosphere an enjoyable place to work.
Furthermore, Brooks said that Morrison was always pleasant and easy to approach to have a consultation with.
Morrison was appointed to serve in the Court of Appeal of Jamaica in May 2008 and in January 2016, he was appointed president.
Additionally, he was the first Jamaican graduate of the Norman Manley Law School (NMLS) to be appointed a Queen’s Counsel, now King’s Counsel.
BAR ADMISSION IN ’75
Morrison was called to the Bar in Jamaica in 1975 and practised for 25 years before transitioning to the Bench.
He taught law students for over 40 years between the NMLS and the Faculty of Law at The University of the West Indies, Mona.
Brooks continued that Morrison was often invited to give presentations on judgment writing locally, in the Caribbean, and in Canada.
“Justice Morrison was truly a Caribbean man and lawyer. Although he retired from this court on the 4th of December 2020, he continued working at other courts in the Caribbean. He conducted judicial training in Guyana, served as a past commissioner of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, and a member of the International Bar Association,” he said.
He also served as a judge of the Court of Appeal of Belize from 2004 to 2015 and acted as a judge of the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal in January 2015.
Morrison also served as a judge of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands since 2015.
He retired in 2020.
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, in his brief contribution, shared that he first met Justice Morrison in 1984 as a student at the NMLS in the class Law of Evidence.
“One of the first things that struck me was the ease with which he explained complex legal concepts, their interaction with each other, and how they applied in the real world to actual cases,” he shared in his reflection.
Sykes added that Morrison was an “honourable man” and commended his ease of language.
“When one combines the ability to make complex ideas understandable to first-year law students in the law school, with the master of language, elegance in speech and fluidity of delivery, you realised that you were in the presence of a master teacher,” he said.
The next time Sykes encountered Morrison was after he became a judge of the Supreme Court. According to him, Morrison appeared before him as the lead counsel in the case of Northern Jamaica Conservation Association and others; the Natural Resources Conservation Authority and the National Environmental Planning Agency.
The case started on April 27, 2006, and a decision was made on May 16.
“Apparently, it has turned out to be of some significance in the environmental world and throughout the Commonwealth Caribbean, but the important point, though, is that Dennis’ handling of the voluminous material and the elegance of his presentation made it easy for me to follow the arguments and to deliver the judgment in the shortest possible time,” Sykes explained.
‘A FRIEND TO ALL’
He further highlighted that Morrison “bore no grudges and was a friend to all”.
Morrison was a past chairman of legal education between 1998 and 2005 and former president of the General Legal Council of Jamaica. He also served as member of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights.
Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn shared that he was one of her “heroes” as a young lawyer and that she was envious of some of her colleagues who had the opportunity to acquire knowledge from him.
“Mister Morrison was one of my original heroes of giving service above self. I didn’t have the pleasure or privilege of being one of his students at the law school, but he was a legend,” she said.
“Little did I know that this brilliant man, I would have had the dubious pleasure of appearing against him. At first instance, I was so very nervous, but, in those days, I was somewhat feisty. I’ve mellowed now. But at the end of the day, his aura of calm and this beautiful kind way that he has of making you, young counsel, feel at ease, that was what won the day,” she added.
Condolence messages from the Court of Appeal in the Turks and Caicos Islands and offices of the DPP in the region were also read in the session.
Llewellyn went on to say that Morrison was one of “our jurisdiction’s greatest legal giants” and that many people were grateful for the opportunity to observe and be in the company of such a brilliant individual.