William Grant was a Scottish Tory politician and judge.

Educated at Fettes College

Fettes College

Fettes College is an independent school for boarding and day pupils in Edinburgh, Scotland with over two thirds of its pupils in residence on campus...

, Oriel College, Oxford and Edinburgh University, he was admitted as an advocate

Faculty of Advocates

The Faculty of Advocates is an independent body of lawyers who have been admitted to practise as advocates before the courts of Scotland, especially the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary...

 in 1935. He served in the Royal Artillery

Royal Artillery

The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

He was an unsuccessful parliamentary candidate for Edinburgh East

Edinburgh East (UK Parliament constituency)

Edinburgh East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....

 in 1951 and April 1954, and was elected for Glasgow Woodside

Glasgow Woodside (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Woodside was a parliamentary constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 until 1974.The constituency was preceded by the Labour held St Rollox, which was composed of the Glasgow City Council wards of Cowcaddens and Woodside.The seat was extended to...

 in 1955.

He served as Solicitor General for Scotland

Solicitor General for Scotland

Her Majesty's Solicitor General for Scotland is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Lord Advocate, whose duty is to advise the Crown and the Scottish Government on Scots Law...

 from 1955 to 1960, and as Lord Advocate

Lord Advocate

Her Majesty's Advocate , known as the Lord Advocate , is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament...

 from 1960 to 1962. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor

Privy Council of the United Kingdom

Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...

 in 1958.

In 1962 he was raised to the bench

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

 as Lord Justice Clerk

Lord Justice Clerk

The Lord Justice Clerk is the second most senior judge in Scotland, after the Lord President of the Court of Session.The holder has the title in both the Court of Session and the High Court of Justiciary and is in charge of the Second Division of Judges in the Court of Session...

, with the judicial title Lord Grant. He presided over the Rachel Ross murder trial for which Paddy Meehan was convicted and served seven years before being pardoned and Lord Grant's summing up in this case was heavily criticised as indeed was his decision to put the case to the jury. The Meehan case was one of Scotland's most notorious miscarriages of justice and several Conservative and Labour Ministers and Lord Advocates failed to act on new evidence.

He died in 1972 as a result of a road accident.