Senators of the College of Justice appointed
His Majesty The King, on the recommendation of the first minister, has appointed Sheriff Andrew Cubie, Kirsty Hood KC, Ronnie Renucci KC and Morag Ross KC as senators of the College of Justice. They will take up appointment on 17th June 2024.
In addition, the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland has also recommended Sheriff Fiona Tait, Edinburgh Sheriff Court, as a senator of the College of Justice. Sheriff Tait will take up post at a later date, but will carry out the duties of a temporary judge on a full-time basis from June 2024.
Sheriff Cubie graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1984. He practised as a solicitor and then solicitor advocate, predominantly in civil work. He was appointed a temporary sheriff in 1997 and a permanent sheriff in 2003, sitting in Paisley, Stirling and then Glasgow. He was depute director of the Judicial Institute from 2014 - 2017. He sat as an Appeal Sheriff from April 2017 and a Temporary Judge from 2019. He is the editor of Scottish Civil Law Reports. He edited Macphail: Sheriff Court Practice (4th Edition) 2022, and three editions of the academic text book Scots Criminal Law.
Kirsty Hood is a graduate of the University of Glasgow, holding an LLB, DipLP, and PhD. She was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 2001, and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2015. She was clerk of Faculty between 2014 and 2019, and was a member of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Board from 2014 to 2021. She was appointed a Legal Member of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland in 2021, and has sat as a part-time sheriff since 2022. She is the author of Conflict of Laws within the UK.
Ronnie Renucci was educated at the University of Dundee and qualified as a solicitor in 1987. After 13 years in private practice he called to the Scottish bar in 2001 where he specialised in criminal law. He has been an ad hoc advocate depute since 2006. He took silk in 2018 and was the president of the Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Association from 2018 to 2020. Throughout his time at the bar, he has been instructed in many high profile cases. He was elected vice dean of the Faculty of Advocates in 2020.
Morag Ross is a graduate of the Universities of Oxford (BA (Hons)) and Edinburgh (LLB). She qualified as a solicitor in 1999 and was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 2003. She served as a standing junior to the Scottish Ministers between 2008 and 2016. As an advocate, she practised in civil work, predominantly in public law, and often in matters with EU law dimensions. She was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2016.
Sheriff Tait graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1988. She was a solicitor in private practice with Drummond Miller until 2009, specialising in family law. She was appointed a part-time sheriff in 2006 and a full time sheriff in January 2011, initially as a floating sheriff. She sat as a resident sheriff at Perth from 2013 and at Edinburgh from 2016. She was appointed an Appeal Sheriff in the Sheriff Appeal Court and a Temporary High Court Judge in 2020. She is a member of the Jury Manual Committee and the Family Law Committee of the Scottish Civil Justice Council.