Zaila Rowena McCalla, O.J. (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Morris; born 31 January 1948) is a Jamaican

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

. Between 2007 and 2018, she was the

Chief Justice of Jamaica Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

Early life and education

Zaila Rowena Morris was born on 31 January 1948 in

Westmoreland Parish Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated south of Hanover, southwest of Saint James, and northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is ...

, Jamaica. She is one of six children of Herbert and Beryl Morris. She was educated at Chantilly All-Age School in Westmoreland, and at

Montego Bay High School Montego Bay High School (also known as Montego Bay High School for Girls) is an all-girls high school in Montego Bay, Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James, Jamaica. The school was established in 1935. History 1935-1955 Montego Bay High Schoo ...

, an all-girls

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...

. She studied law at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(LLB Hons) degree. She then attended

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

, where she completed a

Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Articl ...

(LEC).

Legal career

McCalla was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

on 27 September 1976. She served as a

Deputy Clerk of Court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include Records management, maintaining records of a court, admin ...

from October 1976 to November 1977, and as a

Clerk of Court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

from November 1977 to July 1980. On 1 July 1980, she joined the Department of Public Prosecutions as a

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

. In 1985, she served as acting Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions.

Judiciary

In August 1985, McCalla was appointed a Resident Magistrate. She was promoted to Senior Resident Magistrate in 1996. From 1993 to 1996, she was also an acting

Master in Chambers A master is a judge of limited jurisdiction in the superior courts of England and Wales and in numerous other jurisdictions based on the common law tradition. A master's jurisdiction is generally confined to civil proceedings and is a subset of th ...

of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. In August 1996, she became a Master in Chambers, serving from 1996 to 1997. On 7 July 1997, McCalla was appointed a

Puisne Judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

of the Supreme Court. She stood down from that appointment on 10 April 2006, when she was appointed a Judge of Appeal. In 2006, she was also an Acting Judge of the Grand Court of the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

. On 27 June 2007, McCalla was appointed the

. As such, she is Jamaica's most senior judge and head of its judiciary. She is the first woman to hold that appointment.

Personal life

McCalla has been married twice. She was first married to Adolph Holness but their marriage was later dissolved. In 1981, she married William McCalla. William is an Attorney-at-Law. She has three children; two sons and one daughter. McCalla is an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and attends the Church of St. Margaret,

Liguanea Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Yamaye people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County, Jamaica, Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that ...

, an

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

parish. On 1 July 2014, she was appointed the

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands The Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is a diocese of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. It was originally formed as the Diocese of Jamaica, within the Church of England, in 1824. At that time the diocese included the ...

. In that role, she advises the bishop and the Diocese on matters of

Canon Law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

Honours

In 2007, McCalla was awarded the

Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...

(OJ), and is therefore styled ''

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

''. On 9 February 2016, she was made an Honorary

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, one of the English

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCalla, Zaila 1948 births Living people 20th-century Jamaican judges Chief justices of Jamaica University of the West Indies alumni People associated with the Norman Manley Law School Jamaican women judges 21st-century Jamaican judges Jamaican Anglicans Members of the Order of Jamaica Women chief justices People from Westmoreland Parish 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges