Francis Mulholland, Lord Mulholland, (born 18 April 1959) is a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

judge who has been 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 ...

since 2016. He previously served from 2011 to 2016 as

Lord Advocate His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate (), is the principal legal adviser of both the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolution, devolved powers of the Scottish P ...

, one of the

Great Officers of State Government in medieval monarchies generally comprised the king's companions, later becoming the royal household, from which the officers of state arose. These officers initially had household and governmental duties. Later some of these offic ...

of Scotland and the country's chief

Law Officer The law officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Ad ...

, and as

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

, the junior Law Officer. He was the first

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 ...

and Senior Advocate Depute appointed from within the Procurator Fiscal Service, and only the second non-

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

appointed to the office of Lord Advocate, the first being his predecessor,

Elish Angiolini Lady Elish Frances Angiolini (; born 24 June 1960"Angiolini, Elish Frances" in ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', A & C Black.) is a Scottish lawyer currently serving as Lord Clerk Register, the first woman to hold the role since its creation in th ...

. He was installed as a Senator of the College of Justice in December 2016, having served as a temporary judge for the previous 3 months. During his career he appeared for the Crown in the 2004

Glasgow Ice Cream Wars The ice cream wars were Gang#Gang violence, turf wars in the East End, Glasgow, East End of Glasgow, Scotland, in the 1980s between rival criminal organisations selling Illicit drug trade, drugs and sale of illegal goods, stolen goods from ice c ...

appeals, prosecuted the significant '' HM Advocate v Transco'' case in 2005, the first ever prosecution of a public limited company for

culpable homicide Culpable homicide is a categorisation of certain offences in various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth of Nations which involves the homicide (illegal killing of a person) either with or without an intention to kill depending upon how a pa ...

in the country, and oversaw prosecution of the infamous 2007 World's End murder trial, which collapsed due to insufficient evidence and resulted in a public dispute between the Lord Advocate of the time,

, and the

Lord Justice General Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, Lord Hamilton.

Early life

Mulholland was born on 18 April 1959 in

Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...

, to Charles and Jean Mulholland. He attended St Bernard's Primary School and Columba High School (now defunct) in Coatbridge. He studied at the

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

of 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 ...

, graduating with an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1981 and

Diploma in Legal Practice A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

in 1982, and completed his traineeship with Bird, Semple and Crawford Herron, Solicitors, Glasgow, being admitted as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

in 1984, at which time he joined the Procurator Fiscal Service.

Legal career

Early legal career

Mulholland's first posting was as a Procurator Fiscal Depute at

Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...

, before being transferred to the same post at

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1987. He remained there until 1991, when he was transferred to the

Crown Office Crown Office may refer to: * Crown Office in Chancery, a department under the Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom * Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service () is the independent public ...

, working as a solicitor in the High Court Unit. He became a

Notary Public A notary public ( notary or public notary; notaries public) of the common law is a public officer constituted by law to serve the public in non-contentious matters usually concerned with general financial transactions, estates, deeds, powers- ...

(NP) in 1992 and joined the

Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland The Society of Solicitors in the Supreme Courts of Scotland is a voluntary professional association of solicitors in Scotland, representing lawyers who practise in and around the College of Justice. The College of Justice comprises Scotland' ...

in 1993. In 1994, he moved from the Crown Office's High Court Unit to its Appeals Unit, and in 1995 qualified as a

solicitor-advocate Solicitor advocate is a hybrid status which allows a solicitor in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong to represent clients in higher courts in proceedings that were traditionally reserved for barristers. The status does not exist in most other com ...

. In 1997, he became the first member of the Procurator Fiscal service to be appointed an

, a lawyer charged with prosecuting in the High Court in the name of the

. He also graduated that year from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

with a degree of Master of Business Administration (MBA). He became Assistant Procurator Fiscal at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1999 and District Procurator Fiscal in 2000. He remained in office at Edinburgh until 2003, when he returned to the ranks of Crown Counsel as the Senior Advocate Depute. He prosecuted the '' HM Advocate v Transco plc'', the first prosecution of a public limited company for culpable homicide in Scotland, and represented the Crown in the successful 2004 appeals by Thomas Campbell and Joe Steele, convicted over the so-called

. He was appointed

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 ...

(QC) in 2005, in the same round of appointments as John Beckett, whom he would later succeed as

. In January 2006, Mulholland was appointed by

Colin Boyd as Area Procurator Fiscal for

Lothian and Borders Lothian and Borders is an area in Scotland consisting of the East Lothian, City of Edinburgh, Midlothian, West Lothian council areas (collectively known as Lothian) along with the Scottish Borders. The area constitutes a sheriffdom A sheriffd ...

, the head of the Procurator Fiscal Service in that

sheriffdom A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a r ...

. In this role, he oversaw the high-profile trial for the 1977

World's End murders The World's End Murders is the colloquial name given to the murder of two girls, Christine Eadie, 17, and Helen Scott, 17, in Edinburgh, in October 1977. The case is so named because both victims were last seen alive leaving The World's End pub ...

, which was thrown out of court by the trial judge, Lord Clarke, due to a lack of evidence. The Lord Advocate at the time,

, made a statement to the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

, saying she was "disappointed" at the decision. This was criticised by

Lord Hamilton, head of the Scottish judiciary, who said it undermined the

independence of the judiciary Judicial independence is the concept that the judiciary should be independent from the other branches of government. That is, courts should not be subject to improper influence from the other branches of government or from private or partisan inte ...

Solicitor General for Scotland

Following the 2007 Scottish election, newly elected SNP

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...

appointed Mulholland to succeed Labour Party member John Beckett as

, the junior of the two

Law Officers of the Crown The law officers are the senior legal advisors to His Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom and devolved governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They are variously referred to as the Attorney General, Solicitor General, Lord Ad ...

in Scotland. Beckett, who had been junior defence counsel for

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi Abdelbaset Ali Mohamed al-Megrahi ( , ; 1 April 1952 – 20 May 2012) was a Libyan convicted of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103. He was head of security for Libyan Arab Airlines, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies in Trip ...

in the

Lockerbie trial The Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial began on 3 May 2000, more than 11 years 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 up under S ...

, was subsequently appointed a floating sheriff. The SNP government said at the time that they believed Mulholland to have no political affiliation. His appointment was approved by the

without the need for a vote and he was sworn in as Solicitor General at a ceremony at the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

on 30 May 2007. His appointment was significant in that it was the first time neither the Lord Advocate nor the Solicitor General had been a member 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 ...

. Both were invited to join the faculty by its dean, Richard Keen, in October 2008. Whilst Solicitor General, he formed the new Serious and Organised Crime Division within the Crown Office, as well as leading the successful prosecution of

Peter Tobin Peter Britton Tobin (27 August 1946 – 8 October 2022) was a Scottish convicted serial killer and sex offender who served a whole life order at HM Prison Edinburgh for three murders committed between 1991 and 2006. Police also investigated T ...

in 2007 for the 1991 murder of fifteen-year-old Vicky Hamilton.

Lord Advocate

Mulholland was appointed

, the senior Law Officer in Scotland, following the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...

. He succeeded

and his appointment was agreed by the Scottish Parliament on 25 May. He was succeeded as Solicitor General by Lesley Thomson, Area Procurator Fiscal for Glasgow. On 13 July 2011, Mulholland was appointed to the Privy Council.Privy Council Office — Orders for 13 July 2011
/ref> Mulholland was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to law in Scotland for his service as Lord Advocate.

Senator of the College of Justice

On 11 May 2016 it was announced that he was to be appointed a

, his appointment to take effect later in the year. On 1 September 2016, Mullholland was appointed as a temporary judge of the Court of Session, to fill the gap caused by Lady Smith's appointment as chair to 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 ...

. The

Judicial Office for Scotland The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

announced that "Judge Mulholland will not hear any criminal case in which, by reason of his previous role as Lord Advocate and head of the prosecution service, he would require to recuse himself; nor any civil case involving the Scottish government which, given his former role as the Scottish government's principal legal adviser, he would again need to recuse himself. The requirement for Judge Mulholland to recuse himself will, of course, diminish over time." On 15 December 2016, Mulholland was formally installed as a permanent Senator of the College of Justice, taking the judicial title of Lord Mulholland. He replaced Lord Stewart, who had retired.

Malicious prosecution of David Whitehouse and Paul Clark

In 2021 Mulholland's successor as Lord Advocate apologised to Paul Clark and David Whitehouse for the decision to prosecute them in 2015 over the takeover of

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

football club. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament,

James Wolffe Walter James Wolffe FSAScot FRIAS (born 20 December 1962) is a Scottish advocate who served as Lord Advocate from 2016 to 2021. He previously served as Dean of the Faculty of Advocates from 2014 to 2016, and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Ad ...

QC said the prosecution had taken place without

probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...

and was malicious. Damages of over £20 million were awarded to Green and Whitehouse. The former Labour MP Sir

Brian Donohoe Sir Brian Harold Donohoe (born 10 September 1948) is a former British Labour politician and former trade union official, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Central Ayrshire from 2005 until losing his seat in 2015. Prior to constituenc ...

subsequently called on Mulholland to step down as a Senator of the College of Justice, saying his reputation had been badly damaged by the scandal.

Awards and honours

In June 2013, he was awarded an honorary degree from the

by the

Duchess of Rothesay Duke of Rothesay ( ; ; ) is the main dynastic title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the Scottish and, later, British thrones. The dukedom was created in 1398 by Robert III of Scotland for his eldest son. Duke of Rothesay is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulholland, Frank 1959 births Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Living people Lord advocates Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Coatbridge Scottish King's Counsel Scottish solicitor advocates Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics Solicitors general for Scotland Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century Scottish judges 20th-century Scottish lawyers