Jamaican lawyer appointed judge in Belize

Jamaican attorney-at-law Ricardo Sandcroft has been appointed for the second time as a Supreme Court Judge in Belize.

Sandcroft, who is an expert in child law and is a children rights specialist, was sworn in last month.

He was first appointed to the Bench in January last year.

“I am happy and humbled to be appointed for a second time and with God's guidance I will continue to do my best to administer justice in a fair manner,” Sandcroft said today.

Sandcroft was also appointed to act as Master/Judge in 2020 at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. 

He graduated from the Norman Manley Law School in 2005 and was appointed a clerk of the courts from 2006 to 2007.

He was the legal officer at the Child Development Agency (now the Child Protection and Family Services Agency) from 2007 to 2011.

While practising law in Jamaica, Sandcroft represented many minors who were charged with sexual offences.

He was very vocal about the welfare of the nation's children and was always calling for mechanisms to be put in place to make sure that they get the early intervention and assistance they need so they do not end up facing criminal charges before the court.

Sandcroft worked directly with the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, Office of the Children's Advocate and the Children's Court to revise child protection laws in accordance with international standards.

After leaving CDA in 2011, he was awarded the Fulbright Humphrey Fellowship to the University of Minnesota Law School to study human rights.

On his return to Jamaica in 2012, he went into private practise.

He was also a lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology, Jamaica where he lectured on human rights with an emphasis on child rights.

- Barbara Gayle

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.