Lord Marnoch | |
---|---|
Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland | |
In office 1990–2005 | |
Preceded by | Lord Brand |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Stewart Rae Bruce |
Michael Stewart Rae Bruce,Lord Marnoch,PC (born 26 July 1938) is a retired Scottish lawyer and judge. He was a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland from 1990 to 2005. [1]
The son of an Aberdeen solicitor,Bruce was educated at Loretto School and the University of Aberdeen. [1] [2] He qualified as a lawyer in 1963 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1975. [3] He was an advocate depute from 1983 to 1986.
Bruce was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in 1990,succeeding Lord Brand. [1] [2] He was sworn of the Privy Council in 2001. He retired from judicial service in 2005. [4]
In 2000,he sentenced murderer Pamela Gourlay to a minimum of 14 years' imprisonment;the sentence was overturned on appeal the following year by judges who ruled that Lord Marnoch had "overreacted". [5] [6]
In 2004,a Scottish legal magazine ranked Lord Marnoch "bottom in a league table of judges",based on a poll of members of the Faculty of Advocates. Lord Marnoch complained to the Press Complaints Commission,which took no further action after the magazine published a clarification that the table was based on 20 responses. [7]
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