Maggie Scott, Lady Scott

Margaret Elizabeth Scott, Lady Scott (born 1960, Nairobi, Kenya) is a Scottish lawyer who was appointed a judge in 2012.

The Honourable

Lady Scott
Senator of the College of Justice
Assumed office
2012
Nominated byAlex Salmond
As First Minister
Appointed byElizabeth II
Personal details
Born
Margaret Elizabeth Scott

1960 (age 60–61)
Nairobi, Kenya
ProfessionAdvocate
WebsiteJudiciary of Scotland

Early life and education

Scott was born in 1960 in Nairobi, Kenya.[1] She graduated from University of Edinburgh with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree and from the University of Strathclyde with a Diploma in Legal Practice (DipLP).[2]

Scott was admitted as a solicitor in 1989,[2] and she was called to the bar in Scotland (the Faculty of Advocates) in 1991.[3] She "took silk" (became a Queen's Counsel) in 2002.[4] She has acted as lead counsel in a number of high-profile appeal cases such as the Lockerbie bombing and the Glasgow Ice Cream Wars, in which she defended Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and Thomas "TC" Campbell, respectively. She was also successful in the appeal case of Kim Galbraith, whose murder conviction for shooting her policeman husband was reduced to diminished responsibility.

Megrahi's second appeal

On 6 November 2008, Scott applied to the Court of Criminal Appeal for Megrahi's release on bail pending the second appeal against his conviction at the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial in 2001. The three judges reserved their judgment on the application.[5] A week later, Megrahi's bail application was refused.[6] Megrahi was told he would remain in jail for the duration of his second appeal.[7]

Judicial career

From 2003 to 2012, Scott was a part-time sheriff.[2] On 2 November 2012, she was installed as a Senator of the College of Justice,[8] taking the judicial title Lady Scott.[9]

Controversy

Scott provoked public anger in 2013 when sentencing a man convicted of several incidences of rape, as she appeared to praise him for having overcome his difficult background and succeeded at running a business. Her comment was viewed as inappropriate, with the Scottish Conservative Chief Whip James Lamont arguing that, "plenty of people have had tough lives ... but don’t rape anyone."[10]

In 2017, Scott granted a man who confessed to the rape of a 12-year-old child an absolute discharge. Although Scott acknowledged that Scottish law dictates an individual under the age of 13 is considered incapable of giving consent in any circumstance, she stated that the victim was not distressed and that all eyewitnesses believed her to be over 16.[11] Rape Crisis England and Wales critiqued Scott's ruling, saying that, as a 12-year-old has no legal capacity to consent, sexual activity with them is always illegal. Moreover, it is an adult's responsibility to ensure that their partner is capable of giving consent.[12] In a letter published after the trial, the victim claimed that she was unconscious at the time of the attack, further calling into question her ability to consent.[13]

Personal life

Scott's partner is Frank Richard Crowe, a sheriff.[14] Together they have one son.[2]

References
  1. "Scotland's Top 50 Influential Women of 2012". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  2. "SCOTT, Hon. Lady,". Who's Who 2017. Oxford University Press. November 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  3. "Appointment of part-time sheriffs" (Press release). Scottish Executive. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
  4. "Where gender is no Bar to success". The Scotsman. 16 September 2002. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  5. "Lockerbie bomber 'should go free'". BBC News. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  6. "Lockerbie bomber bail bid fails". BBC News. 14 November 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2008.
  7. "Ruling Given On Bail Application For The Lockerbie Bomber". Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  8. "Notice". Daily Court List. Court of Session. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  9. "Inner House and Outer House Senators" (PDF). Judiciary of Scotland. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  10. Herbert, Dean (18 July 2013). "Anger as rapist is praised by judge". Express. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  11. "HMA v Daniel Cieslak". Judiciary of Scotland. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
  12. Halliday, Josh (17 March 2017). "Man who pleaded guilty to raping 12-year-old freed by Glasgow high court". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2017. A 12-year-old child does not legally have the capacity to give their consent and sexual activity with them is always therefore a sexual offence. It’s any adult’s legal and moral responsibility to actively seek and be sure they have received the other person’s consent for any and all sexual activity with them. This includes making sure that that person has the freedom and capacity to give their consent. For example, if someone is unsure as to whether the person they’re with is too drunk to freely consent, they should not have sex with them.
  13. Aitken, Mark (6 August 2017). "'I tried to kill myself' Rape victim, 12, reveals torment after attacker walks free". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 August 2017. It was said that I consented but how can someone consent when they can’t even talk?
  14. "CROWE, Frank Richard". Who's Who 2017. Who's Who 2017. November 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
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