Crown Office and procurator Fiscal Service
22 May 2008
RECORD NUMBER OF ADVOCATE DEPUTES PROSECUTING IN THE HIGH COURT
The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, today announced that the legal talent available for prosecuting cases in the High Court has reached an unprecedented level as six new Advocate Deputes were appointed to prosecute cases in the highest courts in the land.
The latest appointments extend the number of Scotland's most senior prosecuters known as Crown Counsel to 31. Of the six new appointments, Morag Jack, Gillian Wade, Joanna Cherry and Simon Bowie are from the Faculty of Advocates and Alastair Carmichael and Andrew Miller come from the ranks of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.
As well as these latest full-time appointments, the Lord Advocate has also appointed a number of Advocates and solicitor advocates from COPFS as ad hoc Advocate Deputes, further strengthening the pool from which the Crown can draw when there are periods of peak demand in the Courts.
The Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini said:
"I am pleased to be announcing these appointments and particularly pleased that we have increased the numbers of Advocate Deputes who are of the highest calibre .
"I am sure that the range and breadth of knowledge and skill that these latest appointments will bring, can only further enhance and strengthen our Crown Counsel team who continue to take forward the prosecution of the most serious crime in Scotland."
Notes to Editors:
1. New arrangements for the appointment and role of Advocate Deputes were announced in December 2002 in the document 'Modernising the Prosecution of Serious Crime - Appointment and Role of Advocate Deputes: The Way Forward'. These can be viewed at
http://www.copfs.gov.uk/Publications/2002/12/adchange
2. Advocate Deputes are referred to collectively as Crown Counsel.
3. These appointments represent 4 additional members of Crown Counsel and cover for two planned departures. Together with appointments made in 2007, those being announced in this news release take the number to 31.
4. Joanna Cherry was called to the Bar in 1995 after a brief spell in private practice with Brodies and was appointed as an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2002. Joanna has also been a Standing Junior to the Scottish Government since 2003.
5. Simon Bowie was called to the Bar in 1995 after a Bar traineeship at Brodies and was appointed as an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2003. Simon has also been a Standing Junior to the Department for Work and Pensions since 2005 and the Home Office since 2007.
6. Morag Jack was called to the Bar in 2000, following 11 years in private practice. Morag was appointed an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2006 and she serves as a Convener of The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland and of The Additional Supports Needs Tribunal for Scotland.
7. Gillian Wade was called to the Bar in 1998 after 8 years in private practice and was appointed an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2007. She is a Convener of The Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.
8. Alastair Carmichael joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal service in 1988. He has served in the Linlithgow, Edinburgh, Falkirk offices and in the Policy Unit at the Crown Office. He became a Solicitor Advocate in 2007 and has been serving as an
ad hoc Advocate Depute since the start of June last year.
9. Andrew Miller joined Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in March 1995. He has served in the Hamilton, Glasgow and Dumbarton Offices and at Crown Office. He became a Solicitor Advocate in 2003 and was appointed as an ad hoc Advocate Depute in 2005. He has also been the District Procurator Fiscal at Dumbarton since September 2005.
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