Nashauna Drummond, Staff Reporter
Shirley Lewis, reflects on her travels on the job, studies in England and the absolute love she has for the job. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
AFTER 47 years of unbroken service, Sharonette Lewis retires from the Justice system at the end of December. The first female parliamentary clerk, she retires at the age of 65 to begin a new and uncharted path in her life.
Having been in the court system since she left Excelsior High School in 1958, that's all she knows but she's looking forward to retirement. "I will enjoy life, travel, relax, do some social voluntary work. I'm an attorney so I might go into private practice but I know that for the first six months I'm just going to relax. There will be no staff to be in charge of and I will be able to do anything I have to do on my own time. There's good sense in retiring to enjoy the rest of the years the Lord gives you. I'm looking forward to it. I'm psychologically prepared and 47 years is a very long time."
Mrs. Lewis has a no-nonsense air about her but there is an underlying tinge of gentleness. Her secretary Vivienne Nelson describes her as, " a nice person to get along with; she listens to you. She's a flashy dresser she puts herself together well. She was coming from the courts so I was looking for a very serious person, she was humble and loving but she hates a non-performer." Mrs. Lewis admits that by nature she is a serious person, which was necessary in her job.
EARLY BEGINNING
She began in the courts system as a clerk. She moved up the ranks, becoming assistant and then deputy clerk. In 1970 she received a Government Scholarship to London to study at Inns of Court School of Law. Though it was a great experience, she had to leave her husband and two children behind. "I missed them a lot. For the first few months I couldn't assimilate anything in my brain." In those days males were allowed to take their family but not females. She was able to finish her three-year course in two years passing with flying colours in some of the subjects. She returned to Jamaica and resumed working in a Resident Magistrate's Court as a clerk before moving on to work at the office of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). Mrs Lewis told Flair she left that in 1979 as Magistrate and in 1980 was appointed Resident Magistrate.
After all these years the happy prospective retiree looks back and reminisces. She said it was a job she really liked, adding that during her tenure in the courts she used the probation officers quite a lot to investigate the situation of young offenders. "When I place them on probation and never see them in your courts again it seems the system works." And in the course of her job she's had no regrets about any of her cases. "If there is ever any doubt, I give the benefit of a doubt, I treated them fairly and feel that justice was done. I'm never afraid because I knew I was doing my job fairly. I never go to sleep feeling I have wrongfully accused anybody. When I'm in doubt I never convict."
When Mrs. Lewis was 'transferred' to Parliament in 1994 it was with some reluctance. "I was very reluctant to leave as that was what I was doing all my life since I left high school." Parliament is seen as the highest court in the land. As Parliamentary clerk to the Houses of Parliament, her responsibilities include: an administrative staff of 50 persons, being adviser to the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate. She's also required to be present in the sittings. She noted that her workload is quite heavy but manageable.
NO REGRETS
The St. Mary native has no regrets in the way she's lived her life. She executed justice fairly; travelled the world and shopped extensively in the process. "I love shopping and anywhere I go I shop." Despite it all, she says she lives a simple life. Her husband Balfour Lewis died 18 years ago - a reality she has accepted, being the practical person she is. She now spends a lot of time either at home, going to the movies, or job-related gatherings and visiting friends.
When at home she watches a lot of television. "I'm a game show fanatic so sometimes the radio and television is on at the same time."
