Magistrate in Anguilla, Mrs. Birnie Stephenson Brooks, has been appointed a Judge in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court with effect from October 25, 2009 and has been assigned to Dominica.

Judge Birnie Stephenson-Brooks

A press release stated that the Guyanese-born Mrs. Stephenson-Brooks has been resident in Anguilla since 1992 when she joined the firm of Mitchell’s Chambers. She was also associated with, and was a partner of, the local firms of Webster Dyrud Mitchell and Caribbean Associated Chambers.

She has been admitted to practice in Guyana, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands. She is a former President of the Anguilla Bar Association and the Rotary Club of Anguilla and is a Paul Harris Fellow, an award recognising her service above self to the people of Anguilla.

Mrs. Stephenson-Brooks has been described as having a heart for her fellowman and a passion for helping people. Her tenure as Magistrate has been marked by her respect for members of the Bar and the litigants before her court. She has been noted for her compassion for people and her ability to reach out particularly to the island’s young people who have come in conflict with the law.

Since living in Anguilla, Mrs. Brooks also worked with the young people of the island at the Methodist Church, the Church of God (Holiness) and the New Testament Church of God. She was the prime mover and shaker in the sustenance of the Interact Club of Anguilla where she played a part in molding the lives of many young people who are now leading members of the community. She was also a member of the Royal Anguilla Police Force Community Band, for many years, as a player of the tenor saxophone. Mrs. Stephenson-Brooks played an active role in the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, Parent Teachers’ Association where she was the Vice President.

The recently-appointed High Court Judge is the daughter of the late Lt. Col. R. B. Stephenson and Mrs. Yvonne Stephenson of Guyana. She is married to Anguillian Mr. Keith “Chinnicks” Brooks and is the mother of Kibibi, a second form student at Campus B at the Comprehensive School and Robert “who dances with the angels”. She and her family will be departing Anguilla on September 30 to take up residence in Dominica, but she will be returning to Anguilla periodically as she considers the island to be her home.

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