Senior Magistrate Shona Griffith elevated to the Supreme Court

Shona Griffith

The Supreme Court has been operating under staffing constraints in the complement of judges since the double blow of losing Justices Oswell Legall last May and Justice Rita Joseph-Olivetti in January. Both worked in the Civil Division which has seen a backlog of cases in recent times. But all that should change following this morning’s elevation of Senior Magistrate Shona Griffith to the Supreme Court. Griffith worked in the Belmopan area and elsewhere for the last two years. She holds a Masters’ degree in law from the University of London and is a graduate of the Hugh Wooding Law School in Trinidad and Tobago. There is also another appointment coming up…It is expected that the Chief Magistrate of St Vincent and Grenadines, Sonia Gill, will arrive in Belize after the Easter to join the judiciary. There are currently nine Supreme Court judges including the Chief Justice. Five of those are in the Criminal Division including temporary justice, Antoinette Moore, and four in the Civil Division.