Taxpayers have been left with a £541,000 bill after it took five years to remove a Scots judge accused of inappropriate behaviour from office.
Sheriff Jack Brown faced two tribunals after he was suspended on his full annual salary of £157,705 in December 2018 after allegations were first made against him.
The Crown Office decided in 2019 there was insufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution against the Aberdeen-based legal figure.
John Swinney eventually announced Brown’s removal from his post in April last year after an independent tribunal report found the sheriff was unfit for the role.
A Freedom of Information request has now revealed the protracted process cost the public purse a total of £541,004.
Liam McArthur, Scottish Lib Dems justice spokesman, said: “The actions and behaviour of this individual were entirely unacceptable, and it is only right that he has since been removed from office.
“The public will of course be concerned about the cost, but given the seriousness of the allegations the public also clearly has an interest in seeing all avenues pursued to ensure the integrity of our justice system.”
It comes after a second tribunal published a report last year which found Brown had kissed a woman referred to as C on the lips in 2001 or 2002.
Furthermore, on an occasion in or around 2004, the judge had squeezed her buttocks – with both incidents “unwelcome and unexpected”.
The report also found that, in 2018, he made an inappropriate remark to a woman referred to as D, touched her on the cheek and hugged her.
The tribunal said its findings “raise manifest and serious concerns as to the character and integrity” of Brown.
Delivering its conclusions, the tribunal said: “The public rightly expect that the considerable powers vested in a judge will be exercised by people with high personal standards.”
Given the “nature and gravity” of its findings, it could not say the sheriff would have the confidence of those appearing before him.
The report added: “In our view, his continuance in office would be likely to impact on public trust in the due administration of justice in our courts and bring it into disrepute.”
An earlier tribunal, in March 2021, found that 64-year-old Sheriff Brown, who has been suspended since the allegations came to light in 2018, acted inappropriately but was not unfit to hold judicial office.
That tribunal’s decision was quashed by the Court of Session in 2022 on the basis that it had proceeded in ignorance of the availability of evidence from other witnesses. A fresh tribunal was convened in September 2022 and published its findings in 2024.
Under the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, if a tribunal reports to the First Minister that a judicial office holder is unfit to hold office by reason of inability, neglect or misbehaviour, the First Minister may remove them from office.
Swinney laid an order before the Scottish Parliament last June to remove Brown, who sat in the Sheriffdom of Grampian, Highland and Islands.
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