Who We Are

The National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia (NATJL) is a corporate entity composed of all judges and magistrates within the Judiciary Branch of the Liberian Government. Prior to 1980, the year of the infamous coup in Liberia, it is reported that the NATJL existed as an unincorporated Association to also run the affairs of judges and magistrates, but there is no record of its leadership and/or activities. The body, however, remained dormant from 1980 up to and including most parts of the civil war years that lasted from December, 1989 to 2003, before Justice M. Wilkins Wright, then Civil Law Court Judge, re-organized and led the Organization.

The Association once more became inactive for few years after Justice Wrights leadership before former Ad Hoc Chief Justice of the Honorable Supreme Court of Liberia, William B. Metzgar*, then a Judge, re-organized the unincorporated Association in 1997 and headed it until 2003, when Judge J. Boima Kontoe was mandated to serve as an interim president, with the responsibility to draw up a constitution. Judge Kontoe executed the mandate and drew up a constitution which gave birth to what is now the “National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia”. Hence, many judges and magistrates consider the late Judge William B. Metzgar as the first President of the NATJL, even though it was an unincorporated body at the time, while Judge Kontoe is considered the second.

Justice Yusif D. Kaba, then Resident Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Montserrado County became the first democratically elected President of the unincorporated Association. He served from 2007 – 2009.
The NATJL became operational as a legal entity on October 22, 2010, the day it received its certificate of registration from the government. Its incorporators were His Honor James W. Zotaa, Jr*., Resident Judge, 1st Judicial Circuit, Criminal Court “A” of Montserrado County; His Honor S. Geevon Smith*, Resident Judge, 14th Judicial Circuit of Rivercess County; Her Honor Mardea T. Chenoweth, Resident Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit of Margibi County; His Honor George S. Wiles, Jr., Resident Judge, 7th Judicial Circuit of Grand Gedeh County and His Honor Magistrate George C. Katakpah*.

The first President of the incorporated NATJL is Judge James W. Zotaa, (2010 – 2012) Resident Circuit Judge Criminal Court A; second, Judge James E. Jones (2012 – 2016) Debt Court Judge Montserrado County; third, Judge Roosevelt Z. Willie (2016 – 2020), Resident Circuit Judge, Criminal Court A; and now, its first female president, Resident Chief Judge Eva Mappy Morgan (2020 –) of the Commercial Court of Liberia.

The mission of the NATJL is to seek the well-being of its members, while maintaining a harmonious relationship with both the Bench and the Bar for effective operation of the judicial system and the enhancement of the rule of law. It endeavors to make its membership truly independent, impartial and holistically effective through continued legal education and full appreciation of a Judges’ mandate to defend the Constitution and dispense justice without fear or favor.

The NATJL has been a member of the International Association of Judges since November 13, 2017.