{{short description|Jamaican QC and judge}} {{Infobox person | name = Shirley Miller | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = Shirley Isabelle Meikle | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1937}} <!-- {{Birth date|1937|08|30|df=y}} --> | birth_place = Port Maria, Colony of Jamaica, British Empire | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|1937|08|30|df=y}} (death date then birth date) --> | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = attorney, judge | years_active = 1961–present | known_for = | notable_works = }}
'''Shirley Miller''' {{post-nominals|country=JAM|sep=,|size=100%|OJ|CD|KC}} (born 1937) is a Jamaican attorney and one of the first women admitted as Queen's Counsel in the Caribbean. Admitted to the inner bar in 1971, she became the first Queen's Counsel in Jamaica and has served in numerous capacities, including as head of the Legal Reform Department and on the Electoral Advisory Committee. She served on a committee of three to review Jamaica's Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and was honored as a commander in the Order of Distinction, as well as receiving the Order of Jamaica for her contributions to legal reform.
==Early life==
Shirley Isabelle Meikle was born in 1937 in Port Maria, of Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica to Minette P. (née Walter) and Hugh Osmond Meikle.{{sfn|The Gleaner Company|2001}}{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=3}} Her father worked in the hardware business and Meikle had two siblings, a brother and a sister.{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=3}} She attended primary school in Port Maria{{sfn|The Gleaner Company|2001}} and then completed her secondary education as boarding student at St. Hilda’s Diocesan High School of Brown's Town.{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=3}} Influenced by Ena Collymore-Woodstock and the admiration her parents had for the female magistrate, Meikle decided to study law. Before going to Europe, she worked for a year at a law firm in Port Maria to gain practical experience and then {{sfn|Lane|1976|p=15}} in 1955, she won the Jamaica Centenary Scholarship to read law in London at Lincoln's Inn.{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|2005|p=24}} She enrolled in the London School of Economics and graduated with honours attaining a Bachelor of Laws. Exempt from taking the first examination for the bar because of her work at Lincoln's Inn, Meikle took first in the second part of the examination, winning the Buchanan Prize, and was called to the British Bar in 1961.{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=15}}{{sfn|Brathwaite|1999|p=288}}
==Career==
Meikle remained in England for a year, studying with British Crown Counselor Ralph Miller. Returning to Jamaica in late 1962, she was hired as a Deputy Clerk of the Courts.{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=15}} Meikle married Edward Lyel Miller on 9 February 1963{{sfn|The Gleaner Company|2001}} and a few months later, on 25 August 1963, she was appointed as Assistant Crown Counsel.{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|2005|p=24}} In 1964, she gave birth to her first child, Megan and two years later to a son, Edward. Between 1964 and 1973, Miller served as secretary of the Law Reform Committee. In 1966, she was promoted to Crown Counsel{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=15}} and joined the Jamaica Bar in 1969. The following year, Miller became the Assistant Attorney General and in 1971 was admitted as a Queen's Counsel.{{sfn|Brathwaite|1999|p=288}}{{sfn|Neita|2002}} In 1972, she earned the title of Senior Assistant Attorney General and two years later was made Divisional Director.{{sfn|Lane|1976|p=15}} In 1978, Miller was honoured as a Commander in the Order of Distinction for her contributions to public law.{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|1978|p=11}}
In addition to her work in the courts, throughout the 1980s and 1990s Miller has served as the head of legal reform in the Ministry of Justice,{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|1980|p=16}}{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|5 April 1990|p=3}}{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|1992|p=1}} as a Chief Justice,{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|16 April 1990|p=19}} and as an independent member of the Electoral Advisory Committee (1979–1993).{{sfn|The Gleaner Company|2001}}{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|1991|p=3}} In 1985, she was honored with the Women of Distinction Award from the Bureau of Women’s Affairs in recognition of the United Nations Decade for Women, having made significant contributions in her field.{{sfn|''The Gleaner''|1985|p=3}} In 2004, Miller was the recipient of the Order of Jamaica for her work on legal reforms{{sfn|Mitchell|2004|p=53}} and was appointed to the Privy Council.{{sfn||''The Gleaner''|2008|p=25}} She was appointed in 2008, along with Lloyd Barnett and Edward Seaga, by Prime Minister Bruce Golding to review the proposed legislation for the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which was enacted the following year.{{sfn|Seaga|2011|p=F10}} She was reappointed to the Privy Council in 2016.{{sfn|''Jamaica Information Service''|2016}}
== References ==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin|30em}} *{{cite book|last=Brathwaite|first=Joan A.|title=Women and the Law: A Bibliographical Survey of Legal and Quasi-legal Materials with Special Reference to Commonwealth Caribbean Jurisdictions and Including Relevant Commonwealth Caribbean Legislation and Case Material|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ycqTHWTxuj0C&pg=PA288|year=1999|publisher=University of the West Indies Press|location=Kingston, Jamaica|isbn=978-976-640-069-9|page=288}} *{{cite news|last=Lane|first=Winsome|title=Shirley Miller—first and only woman QC in Jamaica (pt 1)|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-jan-20-1976-437575/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=20 January 1976|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=3|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} and {{cite news|ref=none|last=Lane|first=Winsome|title=Shirley Miller (pt 2)|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-jan-20-1976-437599/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=20 January 1976|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=15|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|last1=Mitchell|first1=Damion|title=146 receive Nat'l Honours|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-oct-25-2004-437586/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=25 October 2004|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=53|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|last1=Neita|first1=Hartley|title=Jamaican women – God bless 'em|url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20021110/cleisure/cleisure4.html|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=10 November 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025211156/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20021110/cleisure/cleisure4.html|archive-date=25 October 2017|location=Kingston, Jamaica}} *{{cite news|last=Seaga|first=Edward|title=The Story of the Charter of Rights (pt 1)|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-apr-03-2011-437781/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=3 April 2011|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=F4|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} and {{cite news|ref=none|last=Seaga|first=Edward|title=Rights (pt 2)|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-apr-03-2011-437786/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=3 April 2011|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=F10|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|1985}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=15 given 'Women of Distinction' title|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-jun-17-1985-437829/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=17 June 1985|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=3|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|1992}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Commonwealth team to monitor Guyana elections|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-sep-15-1992-437803/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=15 September 1992|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=1|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''Jamaica Information Service''|2016}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=GG Reappoints Jamaica Privy Council|url=http://jis.gov.jm/gg-reappoints-jamaica-privy-council/|access-date=26 October 2017|publisher=Jamaica Information Service|date=25 November 2016|location=Kingston, Jamaica}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|1980}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=House approves salaries|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-apr-02-1980-437796/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=2 April 1980|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=16|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|16 April 1990}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Justice Minister for conferences|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-apr-16-1990-437792/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=16 April 1990|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=19|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|2008}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Justice Ministry Makes Moves to Reduce Police Excess|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-jan-14-2008-437894/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=14 January 2008|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=25|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|5 April 1990}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Law Confab|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-apr-05-1990-437805/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=5 April 1990|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=3|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite web|ref={{harvid|The Gleaner Company|2001}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Miller, Shirley Isabelle|url=http://www.discoverjamaica.com/mnames.htm|website=Discover Jamaica|publisher=The Gleaner Company Limited|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227065924/http://www.discoverjamaica.com/mnames.htm|archive-date=27 December 2016|location=Kingston, Jamaica|date=2001}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|1978}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=National Honours Presented|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-oct-17-1978-437730/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=17 October 1978|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=11|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|1991}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Re-election|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-politics-clipping-dec-10-1991-437793/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=10 December 1991|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=3|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} *{{cite news|ref={{harvid|''The Gleaner''|2005}}|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=This day in our past—August 25|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/susun-wilkinson-celebrity-clipping-jul-25-2005-437582/|access-date=26 October 2017|newspaper=The Gleaner|date=25 July 2005|location=Kingston, Jamaica|page=24|via = Newspaperarchive.com}} {{open access}} {{refend}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Shirley}} Category:1937 births Category:Living people Category:People from Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica Category:Jamaican women judges Category:20th-century Jamaican judges Category:Jamaican King's Counsel Category:21st-century Jamaican lawyers Category:Members of the Order of Jamaica Category:Commanders of the Order of Distinction Category:20th-century women judges Category:21st-century women lawyers