KINGSTON, Jamaica – Judge Marlene Malahoo Forte has been selected as one of only 18 persons worldwide to participate in the Yale World Fellows Program at Yale University in the United States.
Judge Malahoo Forte was selected from an exceptionally qualified and competitive group of 500 emerging leaders from over 100 countries.
The Yale World Fellows Program is one of a kind.
In a yearly worldwide competition highly accomplished men and women are selected to participate in a 4-month leadership program at Yale, where they explore critical world issues, sharpen skills and build relationships with other leaders.
Judge Marlene Malahoo Forte
As a network of emerging global leaders, the World Fellows are selected at early to mid-career point and come from a range of fields including business, government, media, international organizations, the military, religion, and the arts.
To identify these dynamic, up-and-coming leaders, Yale relies on a growing network of in-country nominators who are aware of the principal players in their regions. While the group they seek is diverse, the World Fellows are uniformly of star quality with established records of accomplishment and upward trajectory.
In submitting her nomination to the Yale Fellows Program, the Office of Public Affairs, US Embassy noted, “Her Honour Judge Marlene Malahoo Forte exhibits a quiet determination and an unshakable confidence in Jamaica. To that end she has embarked on a life of public service and the Yale Fellowship should only enhance her leadership capability and capacity to contribute to Jamaica.”
Judge Malahoo Forte is a judge at the Corporate Area Civil Courts in Kingston and lecturer of Criminal Practice and Procedure at the Norman Manley Law School, Mona Campus, Jamaica. She is a Commonwealth Scholar who holds a Masters of Law Degree, with merit, from the University of London, King’s College; a Bachelor of Laws Degree, with honours, from the University of the West Indies, Barbados and a Certificate of Legal Education from the Norman Manley Law School, Jamaica. She is a former headgirl of Manning’s [High] School, in Sav la Mar, Westmoreland.
Before taking up her judicial appointment in February 2001, she was an Assistant Director of Public Prosecution. Described as a formidable prosecutor at both the trial and appellate levels, she had a success rate of over 98%.
As a judge, she was first assigned to the parish of St Elizabeth, where she presided in all areas of the work of the courts, for almost five years. She is now serving as president of the Association of Resident Magistrates for a third term. She was also president of the Legal Officers Staff Association (LOSA).
Her position as the holder of the highest offices in these two associations is a clear recognition of her ability to lead and a manifestation of the confidence reposed in her by her own peers. As president of LOSA she was one of the leading spokesperson and negotiator on behalf of legal officers in the public sector, until she was appointed to a higher office.
Upon her appointment as president of the RM Association she continued with the same zeal and commitment to fight for material improvement in the welfare of lower court judges and their support staff. She has managed, through continuous lobbying, to secure some essential equipment for the more efficient operation of the magistrates’ courts.
Her most recent accomplishment was to successfully secure the payment of a much needed special housing allowance to the judges of the RM Courts. This has come after years of lobbying and repeated failures by her predecessors to convince the Government of the need for such an allowance. It has been achieved substantially as a result of the persuasiveness and tenacity of Judge Malahoo Forte, even in the
face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Over the past ten years, Judge Malahoo Forte has been lobbying for reform of the justice system at all levels and has been sensitizing the public on legal issues. Even before the comprehensive review of the Jamaica Justice System began, she submitted papers to the Government, outlining recommendations for fundamental reform of critical areas. One of the issues that she has been preoccupied with is judicial independence for the lower courts and how best to enhance this vital aspect of the rule of law in Jamaica.
As she continues on her quest for amelioration in the terms and conditions of employment of lower court personnel, Judge Malahoo Forte’s main objective is to secure a reform of the magistracy. She strongly believes in the separation of powers doctrine and thinks that all judges should rightly fall within the judicial arm of government.
The 2007 Yale World Fellows Program, which begins in August, is an intensive four-month full-time leadership program consisting of five critical elements including academic study tailored to meet the individual Fellow’s needs and interests, a specially designed Yale World Fellows Seminar addressing critical global issues, extensive interaction with Yale faculty, students, alumni, and University guests and other activities such as a weekly speaker series and trips to New York City and Washington D.C.
As part of the academic component of the World Fellows Program, Judge Malahoo Forte will be matched with a faculty adviser who will assist her in designing an individually tailored academic plan that blends Yale courses, independent study projects, research, and writing. She will contribute to the University’s intellectual vibrancy by making presentations about her work and experiences and the issues she faces in Jamaica as well as teaching and learning from other participants and scholars at the institution.
“I am extremely delighted, honoured and blessed to be selected to participate in this most prestigious program,” said Judge Malahoo Forte. “I thank the US Embassy for their nomination, which opened this wonderful window of opportunity for me.
The Fellowship will expose me to specialized leadership training from an institution which emphasizes the highest standards of teaching and research. It will provide me with an opportunity to exchange ideas, broaden my perspectives and gain new ones, by putting me in touch with others from different countries and cultures, who are also preparing themselves for future roles of leadership.
Undoubtedly, this Fellowship will equip me to better develop and refine my own sense of what I would like to see happen in my country and region, particularly in the administration of justice, as I seek to make a lasting contribution.”
Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe believes that Jamaica stands to benefit from this honour bestowed upon Her Honour Marlene Malahoo Forte. “This is indeed an award which will redound to the image of the Jamaican Judiciary and also an opportunity from which the nation can derive benefit…I am sure she will do Jamaica Land We Love proud.”
Justice Mc Donald-Bishop has been noting Judge Malahoo Forte’s progress. She describes her as ‘a keen student of the law with an enquiring mind and a sharp intellect’. “Indeed, her petite physical stature belies her strength of character,” says Justice Bishop. “She is confident and shrewd. She is a team player who respects the views of others and will always strive to do what is right and just in the interest of others even if she has nothing to personally gain from so acting. She abhors mediocrity and therefore strives for the highest standards of performance in all her undertakings while expecting the same from those with whom she interacts. Mrs. Malahoo Forte seems to possess some innate qualities of which leaders are made and which serve to distinguish them from the ordinary…She is one of Jamaica’s promising legal professionals whose talent ought to be harnessed for the advancement of the people of this nation…
She has the stamina for hard work and a deep commitment to duty. She deserves this good opportunity to be groomed and be properly prepared for a position of leadership for which she seems destined.”
Prominent Queen’s Counsel R.N.A. Henriques, who is also Senior Partner of the law firm Livingston Alexander and Levy in Kingston describes Judge Malahoo Forte as having a very sharp, analytical mind with penetrating analysis of jurisprudential problems. “She displays a first class legal mind…As a visionary she sees the challenges ahead and the necessity for intelligent effective leadership to attain beneficial results… she is one of the emerging leaders already distinguished in her profession and amply suited for the program.”
According to Justice Bryan Sykes, a former Senior Deputy DPP, who was Judge Malahoo Forte’s immediate supervisor when she joined the Office of the DPP, “Mrs. Malahoo Forte is expected to be one of Jamaica’s and the Caribbean region’s leading thinkers and writers in the coming years… In every legal office she has held her performance has been characterized by the highest level of professionalism and integrity. No one has ever questioned her competence. If there are complaints, they are usually about her passionate desire to achieve excellence for herself and her expectation that those who appear before her or work with her should have a similar desire… The program will benefit from having her and she will be better for participating.”
The criteria for selection of Yale World Fellows include an established record of extraordinary achievement and integrity, commitment to engagement in crucial issues and to making a difference at the national or global level, promise of a future career of leadership and notable impact, strategic thinking and likelihood to benefit from participation in the Program and to contribute to global understanding at Yale.
