Jamaica’s first female Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn, King’s Counsel on Thursday gave an abridged but poignant farewell to the Court of Appeal, saying this was her final appearance before the panel ahead of her retirement in September.

Reminiscing on her interactions with judges on the appeal benches over 40 years, Llewellyn told the panel that it was her “goodbye speech” and said “it has been a privilege and a pleasure to have appeared before all members of this bench”.

Llewellyn had appeared before over three days in the appeal of Portland man Cecil Moore, which was heard by a panel of nine judges sitting together, a first in the history of the court. The convicted man had sought a ruling from the appellate body on whether he was to be given credit for the two years and nine months he spent in custody before his first trial, in recognition of his constitutional rights to liberty, despite there being a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for wounding with intent under Section 20 (2) (b) of the Offences Against the Person Act.

The DPP appeared in the matter with two of her senior deputies. The panel comprised Appeal Court President Marva McDonald-Bishop, justices Vivene Harris, David Fraser, Carol Edwards, Paulette Williams, Jennifer Straw, Nicole Simmons, Nicole Foster Pusey and Frank Williams.

Llewellyn congratulated McDonald-Bishop on her ascension to the presidency of the court, noting that Moore’s case marked the first time she (Llewellyn) had appeared before her since she was appointed as the first female president of the court in July last year

“Milady president. I wish you every success which I expect in your tenure as president of the court of appeal,” the veteran prosecutor said, adding, “It has been a privilege and a pleasure to have appeared before all members of this bench, it has been a privilege interacting with all of you at the various stages. I wish you all the very best”.

McDonald-Bishop, in acknowledging the legal gladiator’s farewell, was reticent.

“You still remain DPP…thank you, Madame DPP, it is a bit sad, the tenor of that speech, it is as if it is a goodbye, a departure speech,” she said.

“Just that you remember that this DPP, this humble prosecutor, it has been a great pride and privilege to have interacted with all of you… it has been a great pleasure,” Llewellyn stated.

Llewellyn, who is also the longest serving DPP, having spent 16-plus years in the office, became the first woman to act in the position in 1999. In 2003 she became the first female to be appointed in the position of senior deputy DPP. She was appointed DPP in March 2008. Unlike previous DPPs, who had been appointed simply on the recommendation of the prime minister, she had to apply through a competitive selection process administered by the Public Service Commission.

Llewellyn, who has stared down from death threats to a court-waged war to unceremoniously thrust her from office, had resumed duties in January this year after being on a hiatus from April last year following the ruling of an all-woman Full Court which held that while a 2023 amendment increasing the retirement age of the DPP from 60 to 65 is constitutional, a new provision introduced into the constitution via a second amendment giving the DPP the right to elect to remain in office is “not a valid section and is severed from the constitution”. The ruling was the result of a lawsuit brought by the Opposition People’s National Party.

Following a swiftly filed appeal by the Government, the Appeal Court in December said it had determined that the incumbent DPP “automatically benefited” from the extension granted by the second amendment thereby clearing the way for Llewellyn to remain in her post until she is 65.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer a week after she officially resumed her duties in January, the DPP said she is focused on “transition management between now and September” and putting the finishing touches to the three projects which had been the basis for her first request for an extension in office when she turned 60 in 2020.