Johnnie N. Lewis
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Johnnie N. Lewis (April 16, 1946 – January 21, 2015) was a
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
n lawyer and politician who served as the
18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...
Chief Justice of Liberia The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Appointment and term Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chief ...
from 2006 to 2012. Before his appointment to 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 ...
, he served as a circuit judge in Liberia's judicial system.


Early life

Johnnie N. Lewis was born to Roderick N. Lewis and Mary Houston-Lewis in Greenville, Sinoe County, Liberia on April 16, 1946. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a school teacher; he had three brothers and two sisters. Lewis studied at St. Joseph's Catholic Elementary School followed by Sinoe High School. After finishing high school, Lewis attended the University of Liberia in Monrovia where he earned first a Bachelor of Arts, then a Bachelor of Laws from the university's
Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law is the law school of the University of Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia. Founded in 1951, it is named after former Chief Justice of the Liberian Supreme Court, Louis Arthur Grimes. The school offers a three-year prog ...
.The Inquirer. Liberia; Who is the New Chief Justice-Designate? ''Africa News'', February 21, 2006. He was the editor of the ''Liberian Law Journal'' during his time in law school, and graduated ''cum laude'' in 1969. After he 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 ...
that year, Lewis traveled to the United States to study at Yale Law School. He completed his Master of Laws in 1971.


Legal career

After graduating from Yale, Lewis returned to Liberia. He was admitted to practice before the
Supreme Court of Liberia The Supreme Court of Liberia is the highest judicial body in the West African nation of Liberia. The court consists of the Chief Justice of Liberia, who is also the top Judiciary official, and four associate justices, who are nominated by the Pre ...
; he also became an Associate Professor at his former law school. In 1975, he was appointed as Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit Court in Sinoe County by President
William R. Tolbert, Jr. William Richard Tolbert Jr. (13 May 1913 – 12 April 1980) was a Liberian politician who served as the 20th president of Liberia from 1971 until 1980. Tolbert was an Americo-Liberian and trained as a civil servant before entering the House of ...
, replacing his late father Roderick. In 1980, the government fell in a coup, so Lewis left the judiciary and resumed his faculty position. He became the school's dean in 1984, and continued in that position until 1991. In that year, he also served as a legal adviser to the interim Liberian president. In private practice, Lewis was a partner in the Lewis & Lewis Law Offices of Monrovia. In one incident, his home was invaded by gunmen searching for him; though Lewis escaped, one of his nephews was killed for failing to divulge his uncle's whereabouts. Lewis then spent 1993 to 2003 outside of Liberia, working mainly with the United Nations. Employment with that agency led him to
Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
and Somalia. He also wrote two law textbooks: one on criminal law in Liberia and the other on wills and estates. In 2006, the Liberian Bar Association recommended Lewis for nomination by President
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Mon ...
as the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Liberia The Supreme Court of Liberia is the highest judicial body in the West African nation of Liberia. The court consists of the Chief Justice of Liberia, who is also the top Judiciary official, and four associate justices, who are nominated by the Pre ...
. President Johnson-Sirleaf nominated him in February and he was confirmed by the Liberian Senate on March 2, 2006. Lewis was commissioned as the new Chief Justice on March 3. Upon taking office, he vowed to fight corruption that had plagued the judicial branch in the country.


The Lewis court

Chief Justice Lewis fired 34 judges in Sinoe County in April 2006 after they failed to report to their assigned courts. In July 2006, the car Lewis was riding in to the funeral of former justice
Emmanuel Wureh Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the ...
hit and killed a pedestrian who was jaywalking.The NEWS. "Liberia; Police Rescue Chief Justice From Mob", ''Africa News'', July 13, 2006. The car was driven by a court employee and was speeding at the time of the accident in an attempt to catch up with the funeral procession. An angry mob surrounded the vehicle and Lewis and the other passengers had to be rescued by the
Liberian National Police The Liberian National Police is the national police force in Liberia. The LNP's mandate is: *To maintain public order and safety; *To protect people and property; *To identify and recover lost and stolen property; * To prevent, detect and fight ...
. In a 3–2 decision with Lewis voting in the majority, the court declared the removal of House Speaker
Edwin Snowe Edwin Melvin Snowe, Jr. (born 11 February 1970) is a Liberian politician, serving as a Senator of the Liberian Senate for Bomi . He has served in the House of Representatives of Liberia since January 2006, and he was Speaker of the House of ...
by the
National Legislature This is a list of legislatures by country. A "legislature" is the generic name for the national parliaments and congresses that act as a plenary general assembly of representatives and that have the power to legislate. All entities included in ...
was illegal and ordered his reinstatement.The Analyst. "Liberia; President Delivers Address Without Key Gov't Officials", ''Africa News'', January 30, 2007. The ruling in January 2007 also invalidated other actions of the legislature including a resolution to allow the Legislature to meet at the Unity Conference Center in Virginia while the Capitol Building in Monrovia was being remodeled. This decision created a rift between some members of the legislature, President Johnson-Sirleaf, and the Supreme Court. In August 2007, the court allowed a criminal prosecution for corruption against former leader Gyude Bryant to proceed in the lower courts.“Liberia's Supreme Court endorses ex-leader's trial”
, ''Africa News'', August 27, 2007.
In October 2007, the Chief Justice accused newspapers in the country of deliberately misspelling his name and using pictures of him inappropriately.Media Foundation for West Africa. "Liberia: Chief justice threatens newspaper journalists", BBC Monitoring World Media, October 24, 2007. British Broadcasting Corporation. He threatened to jail the editors and writers if the practice continued for
contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
. In January 2008, the court affirmed the national government's decision not to hold municipal elections due to budgetary constraints and allowed the President of Liberia to appoint mayors.“Liberia Cannot Afford Local Polls”
''The Analyst Newspaper'', January 16, 2008.
The court determined that once money was available, the government must hold the elections, which had not been held since 1985. He resigned from the court in September 2012 citing health issues, with September 10 as his last day in office. Lewis died in Monrovia on January 21, 2015, en route to the John F. Kennedy Medical Center. His funeral was held at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Monrovia on February 5. He was buried at his family cemetery in Greenville the following day.


References


External links


"A Panegyric for Cllr. Johnnie Lewis"
by
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Mon ...

"Remembering a Great Son of Liberia"
– obituary in the '' Liberian Observer'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Johnnie Chief justices of Liberia 1946 births University of Liberia alumni Yale Law School alumni People from Sinoe County 2015 deaths Americo-Liberian people People of Americo-Liberian descent 21st-century Liberian judges