Woman fills judiciary’s second highest position

A JUDGE who told convicted wife killer Nat Fraser that an appeal would be a “waste of court time” has been promoted to Scotland’s second highest judicial post.

Lady Dorrian, QC, is to replace Lord Carloway as Lord Justice Clerk, making her the first woman to hold the post. It means she will play a prominent role in the criminal appeals system.

Lord Carloway was recently appointed as the Lord President – Scotland’s top judge.

Lady Dorrian will take up her appointment on April 26.

A graduate of Aberdeen University, she was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1981 and became a QC in 1994. She was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Courts in 2005, having served as a temporary judge since 2002, and was appointed to the Inner House in 2012.

In that year, she was the judge responsible for considering whether Nat Fraser had grounds to appeal against his conviction for murdering his wife Arlene in 1998.

It followed a retrial in which the businessman was found guilty for a second time.

Lady Dorrian ruled against an appeal, saying it would be a “waste of court time”. A panel of three judges upheld her ruling in 2013.

Christine McLintock, president of the Law Society of Scotland, congratulated Lady Dorrian. She said: “The appointment of the first female Lord Justice Clerk is a significant step forward for equality and diversity within the judiciary.”