List of women senators of the College of Justice

A total of eleven women have been appointed to be senators (judges) of the College of Justice, the Supreme Courts of Scotland established in 1532. The most recent appointment was that of Lady Poole in January 2020, and the most recent retirement was that of Lady Rae later in June, which brought the number of current women judges back to nine.

History The first woman appointed as a permanent judge of the Court of Session was Hazel Cosgrove, in 1996. She was followed by Ann Paton in 2000, and in November 2001 by Anne Smith. Smith's appointment followed a controversy earlier that year when she and Leeona Dorrian QC were passed over in favour of men; but with only three women out of 32 judges, the Scottish courts were still labelled by The Scotsman newspaper as an "old boys' club".

The appointment in early 2005 of Leeona Dorrian raised the number of women judges to four. Lynda Clark's appointment in early 2006 briefly raised the number to five, but Cosgrove retired from the bench in March 2006. In May 2008, Scotland's first ever all-female bench was formed by Ladies Paton, Smith and Dorrian, who sat together to hear an appeal.

In November 2008, Valerie Stacey's elevation to the bench brought the number of female judges to five. No more women were appointed for another 4 years, but between 2012 and 2014 Maggie Scott, Morag Wise, Rita Rae and Sarah Wolffe brought the total to nine out of 32.

Appointments Appointed Senator Judicial title Retired Mandatory retirement date Hazel Cosgrove Cosgrove March 2006 Ann Paton Paton incumbent Anne Smith Smith incumbent Leeona Dorrian Dorrian incumbent Lynda Clark Clark of Calton February 2019 Valerie Stacey Stacey incumbent Maggie Scott Scott incumbent Morag Wise Wise incumbent Rita Rae Rae Sarah P. L. Wolffe Wolffe incumbent Ailsa Carmichael Carmichael incumbent Anna Poole Poole incumbent

Serving women judges Period start Event Number serving Judges Creation of College of Justice 0   Appointment of Hazel Cosgrove 1 Cosgrove Appointment of Ann Paton 2 Cosgrove, Paton Appointment of Anne Smith 3 Cosgrove, Paton, Smith Appointment of Leeona Dorrian 4 Cosgrove, Dorrian, Paton, Smith Appointment of Lynda Clark 5 Clark of Calton, Cosgrove, Dorrian, Paton, Smith Retirement of Lady Cosgrove 4 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Smith Appointment of Valerie Stacey 5 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Smith, Stacey Appointment of Maggie Scott 6 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Scott, Smith, Stacey Appointment of Morag Wise 7 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise Appointment of Rita Rae 8 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise Appointment of Sarah Wolffe 9 Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe Appointment of Ailsa Carmichael 10 Carmichael, Clark of Calton, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe Retirement of Lynda Clark 9 Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe Appointment of Anna Poole 10 Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Poole, Rae, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe Retirement of Rita Rae 9 Carmichael, Dorrian, Paton, Poole, Scott, Smith, Stacey, Wise, Wolffe

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