ACCOLADES flowed from the bench and bar on Wednesday in honour of retired president of the Appeal Court Justice Patrick Brooks who was hailed for being ‘a fair and transformational force’ in the legal profession during his 45-year career.

Justice Brooks was described as someone with an “encyclopaedic mind churning out prolific judgments”.

Head of the judiciary Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, in leading the tributes during a special sitting to mark the retirement of his associate, said Justice Brooks was, “an exceptional jurist, distinguished leader, dedicated public servant and a great and fair colleague”.

In declaring it, “an honour and a privilege to pay tribute to a man whose dedication to justice has profoundly shaken Jamaica’s legal landscape”, Justice Sykes said given Justice Brooks track record, it was no surprise when he was elevated to the Court of Appeal.

According to Justice Sykes, despite the appointment of Justice Brooks taking place in 2020, when the country was in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, the productivity of the court actually increased during that difficult period.

“His steady hand, his calm assurance, guided the court as it negotiated this very difficult period in its history. Even the most careless observer would have noticed the significantly shortened time between the hearing and disposal of appeals. It has now become the norm of the court,” Justice Sykes said in hailing Justice Brooks for his “significant contribution to the judiciary”.

The chief justice, in voicing gratitude for the support of Justice Brooks privately and publicly in his own career, thanked him for those contributions stating, “the advice he has tendered to me, at times saved me from myself”.

President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, Justice Adrian Saunders, in remarks delivered virtually, said his initial assessment of Justice Brooks as a good honest, decent gentleman had stood the test of the years.

“Throughout his professional career he has always demonstrated a capacity for diligent, hard work. Go through his judgments and you will find that they are all written in an easy, lucid manner; there is no fluff, no legalese, the sentences are short and crisp,” said Justice Saunders.

In adding that Justice Brooks’ impressive body of judgments have made a solid contribution to the Caribbean jurisprudence, Justice Saunders said, “Jamaica’s judiciary and the Bar, I have no doubt, will miss his presence at the Court of Appeal”.

The Appeal Court, in its tribute to its departing president, said the St George’s College alumnus was, “always well-prepared, firm but courteous, practical and results-oriented, timely and prodigious in his delivery of decisions”.

In the meantime, retired Appeal Court President Justice Seymour Panton, in hailing Justice Brooks, who had practised at the private and public bar, said he came to the bench well-rounded and well-grounded.

“As a judge you quickly distinguished yourself by your capacity for long, hard hours of work in difficult physical conditions… and by your ability to distinguish issues and principles of law,” said Justice Panton who was the sitting president of the Appeal Court at the time.

“In my judgment, you are an excellent example of the type of judge needed at the appellate level. My experience with you was that you never shunned work. It was my great pleasure to have sat with you in the determination of some very important appeals,” said retired Justice Panton as he added, “Jamaica still needs people like you to be active in retirement”.

In her tribute retired Appeal Court judge Justice Hilary Phillips recalled, “a lawyer with a clear head, very calm temperament, very knowledgeable in the law” who, during his time on the benches of both the supreme and appeal courts, churned out excellent judgments.

Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson in her tribute classified Justice Brooks as the epitome of the consummate professional and measure of a man.

“You leave behind a legacy of sound judgments that have helped to elevate the jurisprudence emanating from Jamaica and the Caribbean. Any advocate who has had the pleasure of appearing before milordship has benefited immensely from this interaction,” she said.

Senior attorney Patrick Foster, King’s Counsel, speaking as head of Chambers at Nunes Schofield and DeLeon — where Justice Brooks worked as an attorney early in his career — said his impact was felt at the firm at several levels.

“I always found his approach to be measured, reasonable and although he is protective of his client’s interest in a negotiation context, he is always fair,” Foster stated.

Attorney Gordon Robinson, who met Justice Brooks while they were both teens, said from then he demonstrated “inflexible integrity, discipline, diligence and thoroughness”, which he said took him “to the top” inevitably.

“I just hope that his legacy is studied by every single young lawyer and applied going forward because we are frankly in danger of losing sight of the importance of integrity, discipline, diligence and thoroughness grounded in spirituality,” Robinson declared.

And Nicholas Brooks, son of the retired president, speaking on behalf of his mother and sister. expressed pride at the career moves made by his father always in consultation with his family.

“It is no fluke that you have excelled in your career in the way that you have, you have always modelled for us the importance of hard work and dedication,” said Brooks as he reflected on how his father balanced his work requirements and his role as a family man he said.

Justice Brooks, at the end of the sitting, which lasted just over three hours, in paying homage to a long list of individuals who he said helped smooth his career path, declared that his journey in the law only progressed in the way it has because of the help of others.

Appeal Court judge Justice Marva McDonald-Bishop, who guided the proceedings, described her predecessor as, “a pillar of justice, a champion of fairness, a guardian of the law, a seeker of truth and a voice of reason”.

“He has built on the solid foundation laid by his predecessors and has managed to leave behind a court of which we are all proud. Just as he said he would have done on the day he was sworn in as president. We applaud him loud and in a long way for all that he has done for this court,” said Justice McDonald-Bishop, who is slated to take over the top job in the Court of Appeal.