David Spencer Burns, Lord Burns (born 1952) is a

Senator of the College of Justice The senators of the College of Justice are judges of the College of Justice, a set of legal institutions involved in the administration of justice in Scotland. There are three types of senator: Lords of Session (judges of the Court of Session); ...

. Burns was admitted to the

Faculty of Advocates The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary. The Faculty of Advocates is a constitu ...

in 1977 and became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1991. Before admission, he worked as a legal assistant in New York and California. He practiced family, personal injury and planning. Between 1989 and 1991, he was full-time

Advocate Depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is the independent public prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by His Majesty's Lord Advocate, who under the S ...

. He was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Social Security. During the

Lockerbie trial The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, 11 years, 4 months and 13 days after the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103 on 21 December 1988. The 36-week bench trial took place at a specially convened Scottish Court in the Netherlands set ...

(2000–2002), Burns was one of the advocates representing

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Tripoli, Kingdom of Libya , death_date = , death_place = Tripoli, Libya , cause = Prostate cancer , nationality = Libyan , race = Arab , g ...

. Burns served as a temporary judge from 2002 to 2005, and he became a part-time

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

in 2007. On 1 June 2012, it was announced he had been appointed a

, and he took up the post on 12 July 2012.Roll of the Court of Session for 5 July 2012

References

Living people Alumni of the University of Dundee Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Members of the Faculty of Advocates

Burns Burns may refer to: * Burn, an injury (plural) People: * Burns (surname), includes list of people and characters Business: * Burns London, a British guitar maker Places: ;In the United States * Burns, Colorado, unincorporated community in Eagle ...

1952 births {{Scotland-law-bio-stub