Death of Sheriff Rosie Morrison

Sheriff Rosaleen “Rosie” Morrison, one of the legendary figures of the late twentieth-century Scottish legal system, died on 10 March 2009, aged 77. 

When called to the bar in 1972, Rosie Morrison was only the fifth woman to have done so.  Flamboyant and quick-witted, she became famous as a sheriff in the 1980s, and the stories about her unconventional approach and repartee with accused and lawyers appearing before her during that time are legion.  This explains why unusually for a sheriff her death was noticed, not only in The Scotsman, The Herald and the Edinburgh Evening News, but also as a news story in the Daily Record and, even more strikingly, in the Times. 

Scots Law News has no personal touch to add, but particularly enjoyed the story about a Lord President’s legs.