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 in Scotland 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 ...

in Scotland from 1990 to 2005.

Biography

The son of an Aberdeen solicitor, Bruce was educated at

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent school (UK), independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Th ...

and the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. He qualified as a lawyer in 1963 and was appointed a

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1975. He was an

advocate depute The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public prosecutor, prosecution service for Scotland, and is a Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government. The department is headed by Charles III of the United Kingd ...

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 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 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 const ...

. Lord Marnoch complained to the

Press Complaints Commission The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines, consisting of representatives of the major publishers. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014, and was replaced by the Ind ...

, 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 ''Press Gazette'', formerly known as ''UK Press Gazette'' (UKPG), is a British trade magazine dedicated to journalism and the press. First published in 1965, it had a circulation of about 2,500 before becoming online-only in 2013. Published wit ...

, 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