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 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); ...

in Scotland from 1990 to 2005.

Biography

The son of an Aberdeen solicitor, Bruce was educated at Loretto School and the University of Aberdeen. He qualified as a lawyer in 1963 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1975. He was an

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 ...

from 1983 to 1986. Bruce was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice in 1990, succeeding Lord Brand. He was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 2001. He retired from judicial service in 2005. 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". 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.{{Cite news , last=Fixter , first=Alison , date=10 February 2005 , title=Vindicated: PCC backs The Firm over complaint by Scottish judge , work= Press Gazette , url=https://pressgazette.co.uk/archive-content/vindicated-pcc-backs-the-firm-over-complaint-by-scottish-judge/

References

1938 births Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Senators of the College of Justice Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish barristers Members of the Faculty of Advocates People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh