Brian Lockhart

“In a distinguished legal career spanning more than 50 years, Lockhart was the first solicitor to sit in the High Court as a temporary High Court judge. He was also involved in the first televised court case in Scotland, when cameras concealed in wooden “hides” were used to record the trial of a man who was charged with stealing a coach from Buchanan Street bus station in Glasgow. The Focal Point documentary broadcast by the BBC in 1994 showed lawyers, police and the presiding sheriff listening to witness and medical evidence and sparked a debate about widening public access to the legal system.”

“Lockhart was a strong advocate of an open and accessible judiciary. When moves were made to do away with lay justices of the peace in the early 2000s, he led a campaign to retain a vital tier of local courts. His contribution to a report on the matter swayed government thinking and led the way for the retention and improvement in the participation of JPs in the Scottish justice system. When Lockhart retired in 2017 tributes were paid to his “significant contribution” to the legal system and his ‘robust and good-natured manner’.”