Lady Smith | |
---|---|
Senator of the College of Justice | |
Assumed office 2001 | |
Nominated by | Henry McLeish As First Minister |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Personal details | |
Born | Anne Mather 16 March 1955 |
Spouse | David Alexander Smith |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Profession | Advocate |
Anne Smith,Lady Smith, PC (born 16 March 1955) is a Scottish lawyer,and a retired judge. Smith is currently the chair of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry.
Smith was educated at Jordanhill School and Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls,before attending the School of Law of the University of Edinburgh,where she graduated with an LL.B. (Hons.). [1] She served a two-year apprenticeship with Shepherd and Wedderburn WS,and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1980.
Smith worked as standing junior counsel to the Countryside Commission, [1] before becoming a Queen's Counsel in 1993. [1]
She served as a temporary sheriff from 1995 to 1999, [2] as chairman of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse from 1998 to 2000, [1] and as an advocate depute from 2000 to 2001. [2] In April 2001 she was blamed by Donald Findlay for falling dress standards in the courts. In 1997,she had been the first woman to appear before the Court of Session in trousers;Findlay said that "The drop in standards began when female lawyers were allowed to wear trousers in court. They are all right for going to Tesco in,but not suitable dress for ladies to wear in court." [2] In November 2001,Smith was appointed a judge of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary,the Supreme Courts of Scotland,taking the judicial title Lady Smith. Filling the vacancy created by Brian Gill's promotion to Lord Justice Clerk,she was only the third woman to be appointed to the College of Justice.
Smith was appointed as chairwoman of the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry in July 2016;since February 2017 she has been the sole member of the panel. [3] In 2019,a disability discrimination employment claim was made against Smith at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. The allegation was that Smith discriminated,harassed and victimised a junior advocate of the inquiry when he was diagnosed with cancer,undergoing surgery,during chemotherapy and thereafter to date. Smith denied the allegations. The claim was later withdrawn due to fear of costs. [4] [5] On 23 February 2022,an appeal court held that Smith was acting beyond her powers to prevent the BBC from fully reporting on the disability discrimination employment claim against Smith. An order restricting reporting detail of the claim was issued by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and then challenged by the BBC,first through a judicial review and then an appeal of that review decision. [6]
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry has been criticised for the limited scope of investigations,mounting costs,and delay. [7] [8] [9]
John Halley,a former Counsel to the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry,has written a book documenting his experience of disability discrimination by Smith. Halley outlines the cover up and corruption by the Scottish legal profession attempting to silence him because he called for an investigation into the historical child abuse allegations against senior legal professionals. [10]
Smith married David Alexander Smith,a solicitor,in 1979,with whom she has a daughter and a son.
Greville Ewan Janner,Baron Janner of Braunstone,was a British politician,barrister and writer. He became a Labour Party Member of Parliament for Leicester in the 1970 general election as a last-minute candidate,succeeding his father. He was an MP until 1997,and then elevated to the House of Lords. Never a frontbencher,Janner was particularly known for his work on Select Committees;he chaired the Select Committee on Employment for a time. He was associated with a number of Jewish organisations including the Board of Deputies of British Jews,of which he was chairman from 1978 to 1984,and was later prominent in the field of education about the Holocaust.
Lynda Margaret Clark,Baroness Clark of Calton,known as Lady Clark of Calton,is a Scottish judge. She was formerly the Labour Member of Parliament for Edinburgh Pentlands. She was Advocate General for Scotland from the creation of that position in 1999 until 2006,whereupon she became a Judge of the Court of Session in Scotland.
William Douglas Cullen,Baron Cullen of Whitekirk,is a former senior member of the Scottish judiciary. He formerly served as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session,and was an additional Lord of Appeal in the House of Lords prior to the transfer of its judicial functions to the Supreme Court.
Lady Elish Frances Angiolini is a Scottish lawyer who currently serves as Lord Clerk Register. Angiolini currently works at the University of Oxford and has been identified as a potential candidate in the 2024 University of Oxford Chancellor Election.
Andrew Rutherford Hardie,Baron Hardie,is a former Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,and a former Lord Advocate,the country's senior Law Officer. He led the prosecution team in the preparation of the original Lockerbie bombing trial,but resigned as Lord Advocate shortly before the trial commenced in 2000.
Alan Ferguson Rodger,Baron Rodger of Earlsferry was a Scottish academic,lawyer,and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
Loretto School,founded in 1827,is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies 85 acres (34 ha) in Musselburgh,East Lothian,Scotland.
Hazel Josephine Cosgrove,Lady Cosgrove,CBE,is a Scottish lawyer and judge who served as a Senator of the College of Justice from 1996 to 2006. She was the first woman appointed to the College of Justice.
Sheridan v News Group Newspapers is a civil court case brought by Tommy Sheridan against the publishers of the News of the World,which began in the Court of Session in Edinburgh,Scotland,on 4 July 2006. He alleged that the News of the World defamed his character through a series of articles in their publication.
James John Clyde,Baron Clyde,PC was a Scottish judge.
Edward Picton "Ted" Mullighan,QC was an Australian judge who was known as an Indigenous rights advocate and protecting vulnerable people. He was known for his role as Commissioner of the Government of South Australia' Children in State Care Commission of Inquiry from 2004 to 2008.
William Austin Nimmo Smith is a former Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland,sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session. He retired from this position on 30 September 2009.
Leeona June Dorrian,Lady DorrianPC,KC 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.
Margaret Elizabeth Scott,Lady Scott is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed a judge in 2012.
Valerie Elizabeth Stacey,Lady Stacey is a Scottish lawyer,and a Senator of the College of Justice,a judge of the country's Supreme Courts. She was the first woman ever elected Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Her Majesty's Advocate v Thomas Sheridan and Gail Sheridan was the 2010 criminal prosecution of Tommy Sheridan,a former Member of the Scottish Parliament and his wife Gail Sheridan for perjury in relation to an earlier civil case called Sheridan v News Group Newspapers. Tommy Sheridan was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison,whereas Gail was acquitted.
Dame Nicola Velfor Davies,DBE is British barrister and judge who is currently a Lady Justice of Appeal,to which she was appointed in 2018. At the Bar she practised in medical law. She is referred to as Rt Hon Lady Justice Nicola Davies.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary,Theresa May,on 7 July 2014. It published its 19th and final report on 20 October 2022.
Donald James Dobbie Macfadyen,Lord Macfadyen was a highly regarded Scottish lawyer who served as a judge for over a decade. In 2002,he was one of the five judges who heard the appeal of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi against his conviction for the bombing in 1998 of Pan Am Flight 103.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was established in October 2015 to inquire into cases of abuse of children in care in Scotland. It was to report and make recommendations within four years by 2019. But this deadline was later changed to "as soon as reasonably practicable". Concerns have been raised about mounting costs and delays in the inquiry. Six years after the start of the on-going inquiry and long after the original deadline,Anne Smith released a report which was critical of the previous Scottish government for the 'woeful and avoidable' delay in setting up the inquiry.