James A. A. Pierre - Legacy and Achievements

Legacy and Achievements

It is generally acknowledged that his years as Attorney General witnessed the high point of the Department of Justice because he was able to attract a high caliber of outstanding lawyers to work with him and to ably expand the duties and responsibilities of the Justice Department.

He placed particular emphasis on the establishment of a Codification Division within the Justice Department, and made the Solicitor General's office an independent section with the authority to directly liaise with the various county attorneys to ensure the orderly and efficient prosecution of government cases.

His tenure as Attorney General of Liberia was marked by his close association and identification with the Liberian Government/Cornell University Codification Project under the directorship of the late Professor Milton R. Konvitz. This program was responsible for the codification and printing of the Supreme Court's opinions as well as researching and drafting of proposed legislative statutes. Again in association with Dr. Konvitz and the Codification Project, Attorney General Pierre reactivated and had the Opinions of the Attorney General printed and published commencing with those of the late Attorney General Grimes up to and including Attorney General Pierre's tenure.

From its inception, Attorney General Pierre was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the Codification Project, recognizing the vital and urgent need for the easy availability of research tools, including both statutory and decisional laws. He can truly be said to be almost single handedly responsible for ensuring the continuous updating, printing and publication of the Liberian Law Reports. Sadly after his death, the program was discontinued with the concomitant loss to the Bench, the Bar, law scholars and students alike.

Recognizing that the legal profession had undergone vast, complex and technical changes and that there was therefore a corresponding need for an academically trained and qualified body of competent Liberian lawyers, able to interact and compete with their foreign colleagues, Chief Justice Pierre concluded that the apprenticeship system of training Liberian lawyers, under which he himself was trained was anachronistic, outmoded and had outlived its usefulness. In spite of intense opposition, one of his first acts as Chief Justice was to successfully appeal to the Legislature to abolish the apprenticeship system. Accordingly, in 1972 the Legislature amended the New Judiciary Law by adding thereto Section 17.9 which requires as a qualification for membership in the Liberian Bar that all applicants must have obtained a law degree from the Louis Arthur Grimes School of Law or from a recognized foreign law school.

With this legislation, one of the traditional privileges and prerequisites of prior Chief Justices was abolished. Prior to the enactment it was the unilateral right of the Chief Justice to instruct Circuit Court judges by mandate to admit any applicant to the Bar.

As a necessary adjunct and to ensure the continuous supply of a body of academically trained and competent young lawyers, he was an avid supporter of the Louis Arthur Grimes Law School of the University of Liberia. He initiated the Clerkship program under which third year honor students were selected to clerk for justices of the Supreme Court.

In an attempt to upgrade judicial appointments, Chief Justice Pierre in conjunction with the Bar, created a screening committee to submit names to the President to fill judicial vacancies. This committee was named the Brownell Committee in honor of its first chairman, and the oldest practicing counselor of the Supreme Court Bar, the Counsellor Nete Sie Brownell. The work and effectiveness of the committee were reflected in the high caliber of subsequent judicial appointments.

He made strenuous efforts to improve the Liberian Judiciary by initiating yearly judicial seminars. His attempts were not limited to the national level, and during his incumbency, he ensured that both the Bench and the Bar actively participated in both regional and international judicial conferences.

In 1971, he was one of only six Chief Justices world wide selected to be judges at a demonstration trial of an international court of justice organized by the Fifth Conference on World Peace through Law at the Third World Assembly of Judges held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. The relevant case facts and the opinion submitted by Chief Justice Pierre on behalf of the Republic of Liberia can be found in 20 Liberian Law Reports at pages 771-796.

In 1971, he hosted a judicial conference of West African Anglophone Chief Justices in Monrovia. One of the recommendations of the conference was the establishment of an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) West African Court of Justice to adjudicate regional disputes and this has now been implemented and the ECOWAS Court established.

In January 2008, the Supreme Court of Liberia established the James A. A. Pierre Judicial Institute with the goal of enhancing the legal system in Liberia by providing proper training to all judicial officers and court staff. In June 2008 President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf launched the Institute at a ceremony held at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia. The Institute had its first graduating class from its Professional Magistrate Training Program in June 2011.