Alexander John Henderson Morrison (16 November 1927 – 28 June 2012) was a British

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

, president of the Mental Health Review Tribunal between 1983 and 1998.

Early life

The younger son of Dr Alexander Morrison of

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, he was educated at

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

and

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

, graduating BA, MA, and

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

, and then trained as a barrister at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, London.MORRISON, His Honour Alexander John Henderson
in Who's Who 2007, online at xreferplus.com (accessed 18 October 2007)

Career

Called to the Bar in 1951, Morrison became a member of the Midland Circuit. He was Deputy Chairman of the

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

from 1964 to 1971, then regional Chairman of Industrial Tribunals, Sheffield, and a Recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the criminal trial court, court of first instance in England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals of the decisions of magistrates' courts. It is ...

from 1971 to 1980. He was a Circuit Judge from 1980 to 1998 and President of the Mental Health Review Tribunals from 1983 to 1998, when he retired. He hit the headlines in 1995, when he said to an all white jury at

Derby Crown Court The Derby Combined Court Centre is a Crown Court venue, which deals with criminal cases, as well as a County Court, which deals with civil cases, in Morledge, Derby, England. History Until the late 1980s, criminal court hearings were held in t ...

"I have before me photographs of twelve Asian men, all of whom look exactly the same."

Family

In 1978, Morrison married the Hon. Philippa Ann (1928–2019), younger daughter of

Ernest Hives, 1st Baron Hives Ernest Walter Hives, 1st Baron Hives (21 April 1886 – 24 April 1965), was the one-time head of the Rolls-Royce Aero Engine division and chairman of Rolls-Royce Ltd. Hives was born in Reading, Berkshire to John and Mary Hives, living at 31 C ...

, CH. They had no children. He died in 2012, survived by his widow.

Honours

*President of the Derbyshire Union of Golf Clubs, 1977–79 *President of the Old Derbeian Society, 1998-2000

References

People from Derby 1927 births 2012 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge 20th-century English judges People educated at Derby School {{UK-law-bio-stub