Sheriff Lindsay Wood

Sheriff Lindsay Wood

Paying tribute to him, Sheriff Principal Aisha Anwar of Glasgow and Strathkelvin said he would be greatly missed.

She said: “His appointment as Sheriff at Glasgow meant a great deal to him. His contribution to Glasgow Sheriff Court cannot be over-stated. From his ground breaking work in the drugs court to his deep concern for the welfare of sheriffs and staff, he had an ability to make everyone feel valued.

“The high regard in which he was held by all was demonstrated by the large numbers who attended and paid tribute to him during his retirement drinks last year. He was touched and humbled by the kind words and the gratitude expressed for his years of service. Our thoughts are very much with his family and all those who knew and worked with him.”

President of the Sheriffs and Summary Sheriff’s Association, Sheriff Wendy Sheehan, said: “We are all devastated to learn of the passing of Sheriff Lindsay Wood. Anyone who sat in Glasgow will know and value Lindsay’s keen intelligence, wit, humour and pragmatism. He was always available to provide invaluable support and advice to his colleagues, his warmth, determination to improve judicial welfare and personal encouragement was greatly appreciated by all.

“His biggest legacy is the drug court, which focusses on offenders as individuals, treating them with respect and giving them effective participation in the process. We tend to take drug treatment and testing orders for granted now but it was Lindsay who introduced a more enlightened approach to sentencing offenders with a deep- seated drug addiction to facilitate change. My thoughts are with all his colleagues, his wife, children and granddaughters.”

Brought up in Motherwell, he moved to Tayside after his father relocated for a job in Arbroath. After graduating from the University of Dundee in 1977 he secured an apprenticeship with Arbroath law firm, Clark Oliver, which would later merge to become Thorntons.

At 24 he was made a partner, and remained so until he became a managing partner at Thorntons in 1998. It was around this time that he started to catch the eye of a couple of sheriffs and was persuaded to apply to become a part-time sheriff.

In 2003, the opportunity to be a full-time sheriff came up. Following the recruitment process he was appointed and was then asked by the sheriff principal of Glasgow if he would like to preside in the city, a role he carried out until his retirement in May last year.

Sheriff Wood was instrumental in the success of the Glasgow Drug Court, which launched in 2001. He also helped Norway, France and Northern Ireland set up their own drug courts.