Alastair Malcolm Morison, Lord Morison (12 February 1931 – 31 July 2005) was a Scottish lawyer and judge. He was a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland from 1985 to 1997.[1]
Biography edit
The son of Sir Ronald Peter Morison QC and the grandson of Thomas Morison, Lord Morison, Malcolm Morison was educated at Cargilfield School, Winchester College, and the University of Edinburgh.[1][2] He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1956 and devilled to George Emslie, later Lord Emslie.[1] At the bar, he was nicknamed "tiger" for his fierce advocacy.[1] He became a Queen's Counsel in 1968.[citation needed]
Morison became a Senator of the College of Justice in 1985, taking the same judicial title as his grandfather. As a judge, he was often critical of the Scottish Executive.[2] He retired in 1997.[citation needed]
After his retirement, Lord Morison continued to sit in the High Court and the Court of Session as a retired judge until 2004, when he resigned in protest against the increased use of temporary judges, arguing that the practice undermined the independence of the judiciary.[3][4] He also complained about the difficulty of claiming payment for his expenses.[3][4]
Lord Morison died of cancer a year later, in 2005.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b c d "Lord Morison". The Herald. 3 August 2005.
- ^ a b "Forthright Tiger with a taste for legal controversy". The Times. 15 July 2004.
- ^ a b "Judge quits over 'stand-in' use". BBC News. 14 July 2004.
- ^ a b "Judge quits over rise in temporary Scots posts". The Times. 15 July 2004.
- ^ "Former High Court judge Lord Morison dies after cancer fight". The Herald. 3 August 2005.