Zaila McCalla | |
|---|---|
| Chief Justice of Jamaica | |
| In office 27 June 2007 –1 February 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Lensley Wolfe |
| Succeeded by | Bryan Sykes |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Zaila Rowena Morris 31 January 1948 Westmoreland,Jamaica |
| Alma mater | University of the West Indies |
| Awards | Order of Jamaica (2007) |
Zaila Rowena McCalla,OJ ( née Morris;born 31 January 1948) is a Jamaican judge. Between 2007 and 2018,she was the Chief Justice of Jamaica. [1] [2]
Zaila Rowena Morris was born on 31 January 1948 in Westmoreland Parish,Jamaica. [3] She is one of six children of Herbert and Beryl Morris. [4] She was educated at Chantilly All-Age School in Westmoreland,and at Montego Bay High School,an all-girls secondary school in Montego Bay. [3] She studied law at the University of the West Indies,graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB Hons) degree. [2] She then attended Norman Manley Law School,where she completed a Legal Education Certificate (LEC). [2] [3]
McCalla was called to the bar on 27 September 1976. [1] She served as a Deputy Clerk of Court from October 1976 to November 1977,and as a Clerk of Court from November 1977 to July 1980. [1] On 1 July 1980,she joined the Department of Public Prosecutions as a Crown Counsel. [1] [3] In 1985,she served as acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions. [2]
In August 1985,McCalla was appointed a Resident Magistrate. [1] [3] She was promoted to Senior Resident Magistrate in 1996. [2] From 1993 to 1996,she was also an acting Master in Chambers of the Supreme Court. [2] [3] In August 1996,she became a Master in Chambers,serving from 1996 to 1997. [1] [2]
On 7 July 1997,McCalla was appointed a Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court. [1] [3] She stood down from that appointment on 10 April 2006,when she was appointed a Judge of Appeal. [1] In 2006,she was also an Acting Judge of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. [2]
On 27 June 2007,McCalla was appointed the Chief Justice of Jamaica. As such,she is Jamaica's most senior judge and head of its judiciary. [3] She is the first woman to hold that appointment. [1]
McCalla has been married twice. She was first married to Adolph Holness but their marriage was later dissolved. [2] In 1981,she married William McCalla. [2] William is an Attorney-at-Law. [3] She has three children;two sons and one daughter. [2]
McCalla is an Anglican and attends the Church of St. Margaret,Liguanea,an Anglo-Catholic parish. [2] [4] On 1 July 2014,she was appointed the Chancellor of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. In that role,she advises the bishop and the Diocese on matters of Canon Law. [5]
In 2007,McCalla was awarded the Order of Jamaica (OJ),and is therefore styled The Honourable . [4] On 9 February 2016,she was made an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple,one of the English Inns of Court. [6] [7]