Meet acting DPP Claudette Thompson

Today was the start of another stint as acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for Claudette Thompson.

Thompson, whose substantive post is senior deputy director of public prosecutions, served in the role between August 2 and September 6 in 2019.

This time, she will be in the job for six months, replacing incumbent Paula Llewellyn who stepped away on Sunday arising from Friday's court ruling which said her extension as DPP last year was "unconstitutional".

But who is Claudette Thompson?

Here are a few things to know about the country's acting DPP, who has almost two decades of experience as a prosecutor.

* Thompson was born on May 27, 1975.

* She was the Clerk of the Court in St Ann in 2004 before becoming Assistant Crown Counsel in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) in 2007.

* Thompson is a past student of the University of the West Indies, Mona where she obtained a bachelor's degree in International Relations.

* She also attended the University of Wolverhampton in the United Kingdom where she obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree, and attended the Norman Manley Law School where she obtained her Certificate of Legal Education.

* She has a range of experience in the conduct of complex prosecutions in the parish court, Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

* Her duties at the ODPP over the years included the conduct of rulings from various state entities, head of the Roster Committee, head of the Gun Court Unit, and being in charge of the Home Circuit Administration Unit.

* Thompson featured prominently in several high-profile prosecutions including the anti-gang case which led to the conviction of boss of the One Don faction of the Clansman Gang, Andre Bryan.

* She was also pivotal in the recent prosecution and conviction of Uchence Wilson gangsters.

* Thompson also featured prominently in the prosecution and conviction of Clansman leader, Tesha Miller, for accessory after the fact to murder in the killing of former Chairman of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Douglas Chambers. Both Miller and Bryan are serving life sentences.

* She also featured in the recent murder conviction of Dontae Brooks, the incarcerated son of dancehall deejay Mavado.

* Thompson is a member of the Legal Aid Board and a former Vice-President of the Legal Officer's Staff Association.

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