List of women Senators of the College of Justice

A total of eleven women have been appointed to be Senators (judges) of the College of Justice, the Supreme Courts of Scotland established in 1532. The most recent appointment was that of Lady Poole in January 2020,[1] and the most recent retirement was that of Lady Rae later in June,[2] which brought the number of current women judges back to nine.

History

The first woman appointed as a permanent judge of the Court of Session was Hazel Cosgrove, in 1996.[3][4] She was followed by Ann Paton in 2000, and in November 2001 by Anne Smith.[5] Smith's appointment followed a controversy earlier that year when she and Leeona Dorrian QC were passed over in favour of men; but with only three women out of 32 judges, the Scottish courts were still labelled by The Scotsman newspaper as an "old boys' club".[6][7]

The appointment in early 2005 of Leeona Dorrian raised the number of women judges to four.[8] Lynda Clark's appointment in early 2006 briefly raised the number to five,[9] but Cosgrove retired from the bench in March 2006.[10] In May 2008, Scotland's first ever all-female bench was formed by Ladies Paton, Smith and Dorrian, who sat together to hear an appeal.[11]

In November 2008, Valerie Stacey's elevation to the bench brought the number of female judges to five. No more women were appointed for another 4 years, but between 2012 and 2014 Maggie Scott, Morag Wise, Rita Rae and Sarah Wolffe brought the total to nine out of 32.

Appointments
AppointedSenatorJudicial titleRetiredMandatory retirement date
1996Hazel CosgroveCosgroveMarch 2006
2000Ann PatonPatonincumbent2022
2001Anne SmithSmithincumbent16 March 2025
2005Leeona DorrianDorrianincumbent16 June 2027
2006Lynda ClarkClark of CaltonFebruary 2019
5 November 2008Valerie StaceyStaceyincumbent25 May 2024
2 November 2012Maggie ScottScottincumbent2030
6 February 2013Morag WiseWiseincumbent
14 January 2014Rita RaeRae18 June 2020
11 March 2014Sarah P. L. WolffeWolffeincumbent
30 June 2016Ailsa CarmichaelCarmichaelincumbent
10 January 2020Anna PoolePooleincumbent

Serving women judges
Period startEventNumber servingJudges
1532Creation of College of Justice0 
1996Appointment of Hazel Cosgrove1Cosgrove
2000Appointment of Ann Paton2Cosgrove, Paton
2001Appointment of Anne Smith3Cosgrove, Paton, Smith
2005Appointment of Leeona Dorrian4Cosgrove, Dorrian, Paton, Smith
February 2006Appointment of Lynda Clark5Clark of Calton, Cosgrove, Dorrian, Paton, Smith
March 2006Retirement of Lady Cosgrove4Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Smith
5 November 2008Appointment of Valerie Stacey5Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Smith, Stacey
2 November 2012Appointment of Maggie Scott6Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Scott, Smith, Stacey
6 February 2013Appointment of Morag Wise7Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise
14 January 2014Appointment of Rita Rae8Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise
11 March 2014Appointment of Sarah Wolffe9Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe
30 June 2016Appointment of Ailsa Carmichael[12]10Carmichael, Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe
26 February 2019Retirement of Lynda Clark9Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe
10 January 2020Appointment of Anna Poole10Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Poole, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe
18 June 2020Retirement of Rita Rae9Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Poole, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe

References
  1. "Anna Poole QC installed as a Senator of the College of Justice". Scottish Legal News. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  2. "Lady Rae retires". Scottish Legal News. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  3. MacQueen, Hector L. (2012). Studying Scots Law (4th ed.). Bloomsbury Professional. ISBN 9781780431024. Retrieved 6 June 2016 – via Google Books.
  4. Brooks, Libby (14 April 2016). "First woman appointed to Scotland's second highest judicial post". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  5. "Growing role for women in courts". The Scotsman. 17 January 2003. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. "Third female judge in old boys' sanctum". The Scotsman. 27 November 2001. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  7. "Trousers-row lawyer to sit on bench". The Scotsman. 26 November 2001. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  8. "Appointment of new judges". Scottish Executive. 2 February 2005. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  9. "Labour MP who quit Commons last year among four new judges". The Scotsman. 20 January 2006. Retrieved 7 June 2016.
  10. "Pioneer who set the benchmark for a generation". The Scotsman. 28 March 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  11. "Fair ladies: first ever all-female bench". The Scotsman. 29 May 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  12. "Lady Carmichael joins the bench". Scottish Legal News. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
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