Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian

Leeona June Dorrian, Lady Dorrian PC, KC (born 16 June 1957) is a Scottish advocate and judge who has served as the Lord Justice Clerk since 2016. She is the first woman to hold the position. She has been a Senator of the College of Justice since 2005, having served as a temporary judge for three years prior.

The Right Honourable
Lady Dorrian
PC, KC
Lord Justice Clerk
Assumed office
13 April 2016
Appointed byElizabeth II
Preceded byLord Carloway
Senator of the College of Justice
Assumed office
2005
Nominated byJack McConnell
As First Minister
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
Personal details
Born
Leeona June Dorrian

(1957-06-16) 16 June 1957
Edinburgh, Scotland
NationalityBritish citizenship
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
OccupationJudge
ProfessionAdvocate

Early life

Dorrian was born in Edinburgh and educated at Cranley Girls' School in the city. She studied at the School of Law of the University of Aberdeen, graduating LL.B. in 1977, and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1981.[1][2]

Early career

Dorrian served as Standing Junior Counsel to the Health and Safety Executive and Commission between 1987 and 1994, Advocate Depute between 1988 and 1991, and as Standing Junior to the Department of Energy between 1991 and 1994.[3] She was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1994, and called to the English Bar in 1991, at the Inner Temple. Between 1997 and 2001 she was a member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.[1][2]

College of Justice

Dorrian was appointed a Temporary Judge of the Court of Session in 2002, and in 2005 became a full-time Senator of the College of Justice, taking the judicial title, Lady Dorrian.[1][2] She was promoted to the Inner House in 2012.[4]

Lady Dorrian became a member of The Management Board of The Aberdeen Law Project in 2010. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022.[5]

Lord Justice Clerk

In April 2016, Lady Dorrian was appointed as Lord Justice Clerk, succeeding Lord Carloway who had been promoted to Lord President of the Court of Session.[3] She is the first woman to serve as Lord Justice Clerk,[6] and at the time of her appointment was one of 9 women out of 31 judges in Scotland.[4]

Lady Dorrian has been involved in the trial of former First Minister, Alex Salmond for sexual misconduct for which he was acquitted.[7][8] She also permitted the application for a ban on publication of the names of the complainers in that trial and a ban on the publication of any material that could identify any complainer.[9] Blogger and former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has since been jailed for eight months for providing information in his blog that may allow readers to identify some of the complainers by "jigsaw identification".[10] This incarceration, wherein Lady Dorrian delivered the "Opinion of the Court",[11] has caused some media attention.[10][12]

See also

References
  1. "Biographies - The Hon Lady Dorrian". Scottish Court Service. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 17 August 2009.
  2. "Appointment of new judges" (Press release). Scottish Executive. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  3. "Appointment of Lord Justice Clerk". Scottish Courts and Tribunals (Press release). 13 April 2016. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  4. Brooks, Libby (14 April 2016). "First woman appointed to Scotland's second highest judicial post". The Guardian.
  5. Thomas, James (22 March 2022). "Academic and artistic minds honoured as RSE Fellows". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  6. McArdle, Helen (13 April 2016). "Scotland appoints first female Lord Justice Clerk". The Herald. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  7. "Judge will not seek to 'direct' work of Salmond inquiry". BBC News. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  8. "Alex Salmond cleared of all sexual assault charges". BBC News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  9. "Order preventing publication of identities of complainers in Salmond case varied by High Court". Scottish Legal News. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  10. McKay, Ron (1 August 2021). "Blogger Craig Murray was clearly in contempt ... but perhaps the SNP will use case to restrict reporting in the future". The Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  11. https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/default-source/cos-general-docs/pdf-docs-for-opinions/2021hcj3.pdf
  12. "Selective persecution of Craig Murray raises questions about justice system". The National. August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
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