Domestic Abuse Committee
Remit and terms of reference
The Domestic Abuse Working Group Committee will support the Council in its preparation of a sentencing guideline or guidelines on domestic abuse offences.
The Committee will oversee all aspects of the development of the guideline until submission to the High Court and will give consideration thereafter to ongoing monitoring of the guideline. In terms of the Council’s standing orders the Council will specify the expected lifetime of the committee. This may be reviewed and, if appropriate, amended by the Council during the committee’s lifetime. The Committee’s work will include, in particular:
- making recommendations to the Council as to the scope, content, and approach of the guideline
- identifying knowledge and information gaps relevant to the development of the guideline, submitting any proposals for research to the Research Committee
- reviewing draft guidelines prepared by the secretariat, providing advice and direction as required while having regard to any guideline methodology and drafting style agreed by the Council
- supporting engagement with relevant stakeholders at all stages of the guideline development process
- overseeing the judicial and public consultation process, including the preparation of consultation documents and impact assessments
The Committee will report regularly to the Council on the progress of guideline development, making recommendations and, where appropriate, referring significant or potentially controversial decisions to the Council.
The Hon. Lord Colbeck
Judicial member
Lord Colbeck will hold office until July 2025.
A graduate of the University of Strathclyde, Lord Colbeck was admitted as a solicitor in 1988, working for A.C. White in Ayr and Levy & McRae in Glasgow before joining MacRoberts in 1993. He became a partner there in 1997, specialising in commercial and construction disputes and health and safety and environmental prosecutions, and served as the managing partner from 2011 to 2014. Following his appointment as a part-time sheriff in 2011 and then a full-time sheriff in 2014, he was appointed as the Sheriff Principal of Glasgow and Strathkelvin in 2016. Lord Colbeck was appointed as a judge in the Supreme Courts in May 2023.
Lindsey Miller
Prosecutor member
Lindsey will hold office until October 2026.
Lindsey Miller is a graduate of the University of Aberdeenand joined the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service in 1994. She has held a number of operational and policy roles including responsibility for matters such as victims, vulnerable witnesses and sexual offences, as well as serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism. She was appointed as secretary to Sir Anthony Campbell's Inquiry into Crown Decision-Making in the Case of the Murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar, and was tasked by the Lord Advocate with preparing recommendations about the investigation of all sudden and unexplained deaths in Scotland and military deaths abroad, which led to the establishment of the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU). For a number of years she had strategic responsibility in Scotland for the Disrupt Strand of the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce and has a particular interest in community experiences, specifically those of children and young people, of organised crime.
Joanne McMillan
Solicitor member
Joanne will hold office until May 2028.
Joanne heads up her own firm in Glasgow. She appears in courts across Scotland on a daily basis and has a particular interest in sentencing and the parole process. Joanne graduated from the University of Strathclyde in 2008. In 2010, she commenced her traineeship at Turnbull McCarron solicitors where she remained for 10 years. She set up her own firm in July 2020, dealing in both criminal and civil law. Joanne is also a member of the executive committee of the Glasgow Bar Association.
Sheriff Paul Brown
Advisor
Sheriff Brown was the Council's Summary Sheriff member between 2020-2021 until his appointment as sheriff. Sheriff Brown sits on the Domestic Abuse Committee as an advisor by invitation of the Council.