Claudette Thompson confirmed as new DPP
Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson will officially take over on Monday as Jamaica's Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), the second woman to hold the top post.
She replaces Paula Llewellyn KC, who retired last month after serving 17 years in office—the longest tenure of any DPP in Jamaica's history.
Thompson’s appointment was confirmed in a letter issued Tuesday by the Office of the Services Commission. She had been acting in the role since Llewellyn’s departure on September 19.
Born on May 27, 1975, Thompson began her legal career in 2004 as Clerk of the Court in St Ann. She joined the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 2007 as Assistant Crown Counsel.
She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, Mona, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations. She went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom, and later received her Certificate of Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School.
Throughout her career at the ODPP, Thompson has handled a range of complex criminal matters at all court levels, including the Parish Court, Supreme Court, and Court of Appeal.
Her leadership roles within the ODPP have included head of the Roster Committee, head of the Gun Court Unit, and oversight of the Home Circuit Administration Unit. She was also responsible for reviewing and issuing legal rulings requested by various state entities.
Thompson has played a central role in several of the country’s most high-profile gang prosecutions.
These include the landmark anti-gang case that led to the conviction of Andre Bryan, leader of the One Don faction of the Clansman Gang; the conviction of members of the Uchence Wilson Gang, a major criminal network; and the prosecution of Tesha Miller, convicted of being an accessory after the fact to the murder of former Jamaica Urban Transit Company Chairman Douglas Chambers.
Both Bryan and Miller are now serving life sentences.
Outside of the courtroom, Thompson serves as a member of the Legal Aid Board and is a former Vice-President of the Legal Officers’ Staff Association.
- Tanesha Mundle
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