Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

Senior Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn is the first woman to act as DPP. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

This is the second edition of The Gleaner's newest feature: 'Women in Charge'. In this feature, we shine the spotlight on some of the most resilient, driven and focused women in the country. Meet another of these powerful women from various fields and backgrounds every Monday. Learn from their experiences and be inspired by their stories. Today, we feature prosecutor Paula Llewellyn.

It's Monday, January 22. There is silence in Her Majesty's court. The judge makes a few passing comments and takes the high seat. But silence would not be unbroken for long, though, as the indomitable Paula Llewellyn is raring to go.

"If it pleases you, My Lady, I would like to begin." Ms. Llewellyn is the Senior Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

With a blue pen in her right hand and a red pen in the left, Ms. Llewellyn commenced with the trial list and quickly worked her way to a murder case which both the Crown and the defence have agreed is ready for trial.

Battle lines are drawn. With the jury already comfortably seated, the stage is set for a grand opening from Ms. Llewellyn, the passionate advocate.

Forcefully and expertly, she outlines the case against the accused. As prosecution, Ms. Llewellyn's role is to arrive at the truth and to do justice between the community and the accused according to law and the dictates of fairness.

"The public interest mandates that you do not only be fair, it means that you must be fearless, irrespective of whom you are prosecuting because nobody is above the law," said Ms. Llewellyn.

"This is what I love. I love advocacy. I love being in that arena," the woman described by the respected defence attorney Lord Anthony Gifford, Q.C., as a "most forceful and dedicated prosecutor," later told The Gleaner.

High-profile cases

Ms. Llewellyn has been in the business of prosecuting since leaving the Norman Manley Law School in 1984. She started as a clerk of court in St. James before being promoted to the Office of the DPP in 1986. Her years of practice have seen her engaging in some of the fiercest battles. She has prosecuted many high-profile cases alongside some of Jamaica's top attorneys, many of them Queen's Counsels.

Howard Hamilton, Q.C., a former Public Defender and a man who has had the distinction of winning over 60 cases on the trot around the island, said "she brings a high level of professionalism to the job of prosecutor".

"She is fearless. She is a fierce competitor and a formidable opponent in the arena," Mr. Hamilton said.

But when she started the journey, little did Ms. Llewellyn know that she would rise to become a highly- respected prosecutor in what has traditionally been seen as male territory. Her first ever journey to St. James was a very nervous one. She wondered what she would encounter in the courts and may have harboured doubts about how well she would perform. But any fear or reservation she had, quickly subsided when in mid-air while travelling to Montego Bay.

"On that first flight down to Montego Bay I met none other than the great Ian Ramsay, Q.C. I was reading a book on advocacy ... He introduced himself to me and asked me who I was ...

"He really encouraged me and told me that one of these days he is sure that he will have the pleasure of doing a case against me and he is sure that I am going to do well.

"Over the years I can truly say that I have had the opportunity of appearing against him on many occasions ... I learnt so much from him even though we were adversaries," Ms. LLewellyn reflected.

Fine list

Hailing from a family of nurses, Senior DPP Paula Llewellyn says that 'service above self' is a family tradition.

Ian Ramsay was one in a long list of top defence attorneys against whom Ms. Llewellyn has appeared. Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson, former Government minister K.D. Knight, Lord Anthony Gifford, Frank Phipps and Churchill Neita, all Queen's Counsels, make up that fine list.

In his recently launched book, The Passionate Advocate, Lord Gifford recalled a case in which he and Ms. Llewellyn were adversaries.

"Our client was accused of killing a man and throwing his body down a deep well where it had stayed for two years before the crime came to light. He had made a signed confession in which he said that he had been stealing coconuts from a tree when the deceased came by and asked him for a coconut. He had thrown one down which had landed on the man's head and knocked him senseless. In a panic, believing that he had killed him, he threw him down the well.

"Studying the evidence, I realised that there was no case for our client to answer. If the deceased was killed by a coconut, his death was an accident. If he was killed by drowning, then our client had thrown a live body into the well and he would be guilty of manslaughter, at least. But the skull had not been recovered, so the cause of death was not known. The case was prosecuted by Paula Llewellyn, one of the most forceful and dedicated prosecutors whom I have met in any jurisdiction," Lord Gifford wrote.

One of the first murder cases to be prosecuted by Ms. LLewellyn was against Mr. Patterson. Despite the prosecution not coming out victors, the experience was overwhelming for a woman who was destined to write her name in the annals of history as a top-class prosecutor.

"I learnt a lot in that case and I still take with me lessons from that and other encounters," she said.

As a junior counsel to Lloyd Hibbert, who was then Senior Deputy DPP, Ms. Llewellyn gained more experience in prosecuting big cases having aided the Crown in prosecuting a murder case against former Tivoli Gardens strongman Lester 'Jim Brown' Coke, who was acquitted on a no-case submission.

Further along the way she would prosecute some very high-profile cases, including murder matters against Donald 'Zekes' Phipps, Kevin 'Richie Poo' Tyndale and Mary Lynch in which the Crown successfully secured convictions. She was unsuccessful in other much-publicised cases, such as the trial of police officers charged with murder in Flankers, and against Senior Superintendent of Police Reneto Adams and other police in the Kraal and Braeton Seven cases.

Ms. Llewellyn concedes that being a woman can make it difficult to gain recognition, but said that once a female attorney gets the respect of her male counterparts, she is well on her way.

"Sometimes you have to be even twice as good as your male counterpart to get that same regard and respect, but once you get the respect of your colleague male professionals, that respect never shifts. However, that respect can only come through solid performance.

Said she: "The criminal bar is a rough arena, and to be at the top of your game in the criminal bar takes constant work and application."

Llewellyn names women like Jacqueline Samuels-Brown, Valerie Neita-Robinson and Norma Linton, Q.C., as some top female attorneys who have overcome odds to rise to the top of the profession.

While noting that the climb to the top has been difficult, Llewellyn believes gender should never be used as an excuse.

"The way to triumph is to make sure that you work hard and prepare very thoroughly and show the fact that you have the guts, stamina ... to do the job," she said.

Mental toughness

There is no one individual to which Llewellyn totally attributes her success. However, she said her father, Clinton Llewellyn, and mother, Mavis, of blessed memory prepared her well.

"I get the mental toughness from my mother ... and my father taught me how to deal with intimidation."

In the legal arena, she said long-time mentor Justice Marva McIntosh was the one who really prepared her for the road.

But like most things in life, success would hardly be achieved without a deep-seated passion and dedication.

Mindful that her salary is being paid by taxpayers, who also footed her education bill, Llewellyn said it is important for everyone to give of their best.

"I certainly believe that as a prosecuting attorney, the interest of justice demands that I give 150 per cent. I do this knowing that this country has invested so much in me and it is my duty to give back."

Though the verdict is still out as to who will succeed Kent Pantry, who seems to be on his way out of the coveted chair of DPP, many have tipped Llewellyn to take over the job.

But whatever decision is returned by the jury, LLewellyn pledges to continue doing what she does best - seeking justice in Her Majesty's court while at the same time maintaining her integrity.