Anne Smith, Lady Smith, (born 16 March 1955) is a Scottish lawyer, and a

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

of the Supreme Courts of Scotland.

Early life

Smith was educated at

Jordanhill School Jordanhill School educates children from age 4–19. It was formerly run by Jordanhill College of Education as its demonstration school, and was previously known as Jordanhill College School. Uniquely among Scottish schools, it is funded direct ...

and Cheadle County Grammar School for Girls, before attending the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, where she graduated with an

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(Hons.). She served a two-year apprenticeship with Shepherd and Wedderburn WS, and 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 constit ...

in 1980.

Legal career

Smith worked as Standing Junior Counsel to the

Countryside Commission The Countryside Commission (formally the Countryside Commission for England and Wales, then the Countryside Commission for England) was a statutory body in England and Wales, and later in England only. Its forerunner, the National Parks Commissio ...

, before becoming 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 1993. She served as a Temporary

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 ...

from 1995 to 1999, as Chairman of the Scottish Partnership on Domestic Abuse from 1998 to 2000, and as 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 2000 to 2001. In April 2001 she was blamed by Donald Findlay QC for falling dress standards in the courts. In 1997, she had been the first woman to appear before the Court of Session in trousers; Findlay said that "The drop in standards began when female lawyers were allowed to wear trousers in court. They are all right for going to Tesco in, but not suitable dress for ladies to wear in court." In November 2001, Smith was appointed a

of the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland and constitutes part of the College of Justice; the supreme criminal court of Scotland is the High Court of Justiciary. The Court of Session sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh ...

and

High Court of Justiciary The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cou ...

, the Supreme Courts of Scotland, taking the judicial title, Lady Smith. Filling the vacancy created by Lord Gill's promotion to

Lord Justice Clerk The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session. Originally ''clericus justiciarie'' or Clerk to the Court of Justiciary, the counterpart in the criminal courts of the Lord ...

, she was only the third woman to be appointed to the College of Justice.

Controversies

Smith was appointed as chairwoman of the

Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry was established in October 2015 to inquire into cases of abuse of children in care in Scotland. It was to report and make recommendations within four years by 2019. But this deadline was later changed to "as soon ...

in July 2016; since February 2017 she has been the sole member of the panel. In 2019, a disability discrimination employment claim was made against Smith at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry. The allegation was that Smith discriminated, harassed and victimised a junior advocate of the Inquiry when he was diagnosed with cancer, undergoing surgery, during chemotherapy and thereafter to date. Smith denied the allegations. The claim was later withdrawn due to fear of costs. On 23 February 2022, an appeal court held that Smith was acting beyond her powers to prevent the BBC from fully reporting on the disability discrimination employment claim against Smith. An order restricting reporting detail of the claim was issued by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry and then challenged by the BBC, first through a judicial review and then an appeal of that review decision. The

has been criticised for the limited scope of investigations, mounting costs, and delay.

Personal life

Smith married David Alexander Smith, WS, a solicitor, in 1979, with whom she has a son and a daughter.

References

External links

profile
at Judiciary of Scotland website {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Anne 1955 births Living people

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 ...

Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

Scottish women judges Scottish King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel