JUSTICE Zalia McCalla yesterday wrote her name in Jamaican history as the nation’s first woman Chief Justice, but immediately faced controversy over her appointment to succeed Lensley Wolfe as top judge.

McCalla, whose credentials were not in question, got the nod after solicitor general Michael Hylton told Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller he no longer wanted to be considered for the job, upon learning that he did not have the support of Opposition Leader Bruce Golding.

“I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has not indicated support for my appointment,” Hylton said in a news release Monday. “It is important for the country that someone be found who enjoys bipartisan support and, hopefully, my withdrawal will clear the way for this to be done,” he said.

Under Jamaican law, the Chief Justice is appointed on the nomination of the Prime Minister in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.

Hylton was apparently the prime minister’s preferred choice for the job. But with his backing down, Governor General Kenneth Hall, immediately appointed Justice McCalla, a 22-year veteran of the bench with international experience, to be head of the judiciary.

Wolfe will be retiring one day shy of his 70th birthday on June 27, 2007.

But McCalla’s appointment was also tainted by comments from president of the Jamaican Bar Association, John Lieba, who expressed chagrin about the present method of selecting the chief justice.

In a release, Lieba said the association was never notified about the intention to appoint McCalla and called on the government to include legal minds in the selection process.

“While it is not required by the constitution, it is the view of the Bar that the appointment of the Chief Justice is of such importance to the judiciary and the functioning of our system of justice that the association and other relevant stakeholders should be consulted for its opinion and/or asked to name possible candidates,” the release stated.

Lieba did not question McCalla’s competence, but called for a more open process of selecting the nation’s top judge.

“While the association does not doubt the qualification of the person so far mentioned, it is of the view that the process can only be enhanced by a more open system in the search and selection process as now occurs in the United Kingdom and South Africa,” the release went on.

Justice McCalla has been a member of the judiciary for 22 years. She was admitted to the Bar in 1976 and has served as a clerk of courts, crown counsel and Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions. She has adjudicated in the Supreme Court since 1997 and has been judge of the Appeal Court since 2004.

King’s House said the Montego Bay High School past student also served as president of the Resident Magistrates’ Association and had participated in various legal seminars and conferences, both locally and internationally, including an intensive study programme for judicial educators at the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute, Dalhouse University Law School in Halifax, Canada.

Justice McCalla is married to William McCalla, a lawyer and has three children – Mark, Leslie-Ann and Martin.