This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Shrieval appointments
16/11/2004
The Queen, on the recommendation of the First Minister,
has appointed six new floating sheriffs to fill vacancies
arising from retirals and transfers.
Their appointment to the office of all-Scotland floating
sheriff were recommended by the Judicial Appointments Board
for Scotland.
The Board have provided a slate of names from which
Ministers will fill all-Scotland floating shrieval posts
arising before the end of 2005.
They are:
- Mr Peter J Braid
- Mr Douglas A Brown
- Ms Elizabeth C Munro
- Mr Frank L Pieri
- Mr Joseph Platt
- Mr Alastair G Watson
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"I am pleased to announce these appointments which once
everyone is in post, will bring the total complement of
sheriffs to a record level of 139.
"I have asked the Judicial Appointments Board to press
on with the recruitment of more part-time sheriffs to help
provide the cover that our courts require to work
efficiently and effectively."
The six appointees will take up post during the next
three months.
BIOGRAPHIES
Peter Braid (45) was admitted as solicitor
in 1982 and became solicitor advocate in January 1995. His
whole career has been with Morton Fraser where he became a
partner in 1985 dealing with all aspects of litigation,
latterly specialising in commercial cases. He was appointed
part-time Sheriff in August 2001.
Douglas Brown (52) was admitted as
solicitor in 1975. In 1977 he joined the Procurator Fiscal
Service and served as a Depute in Dumbarton, Glasgow and
Edinburgh, moving to the Crown Office in 1991. Appointed
Procurator Fiscal at Ayr in 1994 he moved to Glasgow to
become Senior Assistant Procurator Fiscal in 1996.
Thereafter he was Regional Fiscal of South Strathclyde
Dumfries and Galloway from 1999 until July 2002 when he
became Area Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders.
Elizabeth Munro (51) was admitted as
solicitor in 1973 and as solicitor advocate in 1994. Her
whole career has been with the Crown Office and Procurator
Fiscal Service working first as a Depute in Dumbarton then
Glasgow before being appointed Head of the Deaths Unit
there Glasgow in 1988. She became Head of the Solemn Unit
there in 1993 before moving to Crown Office in 1995. She
was Procurator Fiscal at Kirkcaldy from 1996 and in 1999
was appointed Head of the International and Financial Crime
Unit in Crown Office.
Frank Pieri (49) was admitted solicitor in
1976 and to the Faculty of Advocates in 1994. He began his
career with Hamilton Burns & Moore in Glasgow before
becoming a partner in the firm of Maguire Pieri &
Partners in 1979. From there he became a partner in Burns
Reid in 1990. His career has been in general practice
covering all aspects of civil and criminal court work. In
2000 he became a full time immigration adjudicator and was
appointed part-time sheriff in 2003.
Joe Platt (53) was admitted as solicitor
in 1974 and worked in the firm of John Dunn & Co,
Glasgow where he became partner in 1976. He moved from
general chamber and court work there in 1989 to become a
partner dealing with civil and criminal court work in
Philpott Platt & Niblett in Dumbarton. Since 1994 he
held office in the Law Society of Scotland serving as
convener on various committees, as vice president in the
year 2002-03 and latterly as president 2003-04.
Alistair Watson (45) was admitted as
solicitor in 1982 and began his career as assistant in the
firm of Gilruth Pollock & Smith in Dundee. He served in
the Procurator Fiscal Service as a depute procurator fiscal
in Dumbarton then Glasgow until 1989 when he returned to
private practice. In 1998 he was appointed as Director of
the Public Defence Solicitor's Office.
The term "all-Scotland floating sheriff" is applied to
two slightly different types of post, although the duties
carried out by those individuals are exactly the same as
those undertaken by sheriffs who occupy "resident" posts.
Assistance may be required to cover the absence of a
resident sheriff on sick or annual leave or for judicial
training, or simply to assist in the throughput of court
business.
Floating posts may be located within a particular
sheriffdom where individuals may sit in any of the sheriff
courts, while others may carry out their duties in any of
the 49 sheriff courts throughout Scotland as required.
The new appointments follow a recruitment exercise
carried out by the Judicial Appointments Board for
Scotland.
The Board invited applications for those interested in
appointment as all-Scotland floating sheriff and a notice
was advertised in the national and legal press. Ninety-one
applications were received from all branches of the legal
profession.
A shortlist of applicants was interviewed by panels
comprising six Board members. The panel report was agreed
by the full Board and submitted to the First Minister, who
accepted its recommendations. Before making recommendations
for appointment to Her Majesty The Queen, the First
Minister is required to consult with the Lord
President.
The slate of recommended candidates will be used to fill
any vacancies arising in the ranks of all-Scotland floating
sheriffs within the coming 12 months. Only on appointment
will the names of individuals on the slate be made
public.