Joan Sawyer

Dame Joan Augusta Sawyer, DBE, PC (born 26 November 1940) is a Bahamian judge. She was Chief Justice of the Bahamas from 1996 to 2001 and President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas from 2001 to 2010. She was the first woman to ever serve in those two positions.

Early life and education Sawyer was born in George Town, Exuma, Bahamas in 1940. She attended the Georgetown Public School, and to the Bahamas Bar on 12 September 1973. In September 1978, she served as an acting magistrate on a widely-reported poaching case. In 1987, she served as an acting Supreme Court justice for two months. where she sat until 26 November 2001. Sawyer is also a member of the Indian Council of Jurists.

Awards and honours Sawyer was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 25 November 1996. She was also notably the only Bahamian to serve on both the judicial and political branches of the Privy Council.

Personal life Sawyer was married to the late Geoffrey Sawyer; the couple had one son, Samuel.