Lord Kincraig | |
|---|---|
| Senator of the College of Justice | |
| In office 1972–1987 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Smith Johnston 10 October 1918 Edinburgh |
| Died | 19 September 2004 (aged 85) Edinburgh |
| Residence | Edinburgh |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge; University of Glasgow |
| Profession | Advocate |
Hon. Lord (Robert Smith Johnston) Kincraig (10 October 1918 – 19 September 2004) was a Senator of the College of Justice in Scotland from 1972 to 1987; chairman, Parole Review Body for Scotland, 1988.[1]
Robert Smith Johnston was educated at Strathallan School in Perthshire. He graduated from St John's College, Cambridge in 1939 and from the University of Glasgow in 1942.[2] Owing to a medical condition he was considered unfit for military service at the beginning of the Second World War and so continued his studies and began his legal career during those years.[2]
Johnston was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1942 and quickly established a substantial and varied practice which he developed during the forties and fifties.[2] He served as an Advocate Depute from 1953 to 1955 to the Crown Office and became a King's Counsel (Scotland) in 1955.[3]
In 1959 he unsuccessfully contested the Stirling and Falkirk burghs constituency in the general election as a Unionist candidate.[1] He served as Home Advocate Depute between 1959 and 1962 and as the Sheriff-Depute of Roxburgh, Berwick and Selkirk from 1964 to 1970.[1] In 1970 he was elected Dean of the Faculty of Advocates a post which he held until 1972. He misdirected the jury in the Ice Cream Van murders trial of Campbell and Steele who were later freed on appeal.[1]
Johnston was appointed to the benches of the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary, Scotland's Supreme Courts in 1972 as a Senator of the College of Justice with the judicial title, Lord Kincraig and remained on the bench until 1987.[1]
In 1988 he was appointed by the government to chair a committee on the general question of the early release of prisoners and the parole system in general as a consequence of rioting in UK prisons.[2] A similar committee was established in England chaired by Lord Carlisle.[2] The government accepted most of the recommendations; in 1993 legislation was introduced[4] on the automatic early release of short-term prisoners, subject to recall if reoffending, and a revised parole system.[2]