The appellant, JW, was charged with 19 sexual offences against six different complainers. The appellant challenged the trial judge’s decision to review orders to permit certain evidence to be led by him.  The appeal was made under section 275(9) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. At trial the judge [...]

Cumbernauld man refused an appeal at the High Court of Justiciary against his conviction for assaulting another with a knife nearby to a local shop. Gary Orr was found guilty and sentenced to a 30-month cumulo penalty. Mr Orr argued that the trial judge should have provided the jury with [...]

Sheriff Keir found that the death of a man in HMP Addiewell, Scotland’s only privately run prison could have been avoided. It was determined that there were defects on the then current system of working within the prison. On the 20th of April 2019 John Smith died, in his cell, [...]

The High Court of Justiciary has refused an appeal by a man charged with 19 sexual offences against six different complainers challenging a trial judge’s decision to review orders allowing certain evidence to be led by him.  The trial judge revoked previous order which allowed certain evidence to be led. [...]

A man convicted of sexually touching a teenager has had his sentence reduced after he appealed against his sentence and lodged a bill of suspension seeking to suspend the sentence imposed by the sheriff at trial.  William Hepburn, aged 79 at the time of sentencing, was originally sentenced to 12 [...]

On appeal at the High Court of Justiciary a former Shetland teacher who was convicted of engaging in sexual activities with two students has had his sentence reduced by three months. Kieran Malcolmson was convicted of one offence under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2000 and another under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act [...]

Colin Marshall who was convicted of assaulting his friend and ex-partner and of attempted murder of the former has had his sentence reduced by 3 years on appeal at the High Court of Justiciary.  Mr Marshall was sentenced by the sheriff at trial to 18 years’ imprisonment with a custodial part [...]

A Scottish Government consultation on the pardoning of miners found guilty of offenses during the 1984-85 strikes shows overwhelming support from responses. Eighty-seven per cent of responses supported pardoning breaches of the peace, and 86% supported pardons in relation to breaches of bail. Miners across the UK went on strike [...]

Figures from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) show collection rates of court fines are beginning to reach pre-pandemic levels. The three-year collection rates for all fine and penalty types have shown improvement, with the rates for Sheriff Court fines by both value paid or on track to be [...]

Appeals on behalf of three men convicted of abduction and rape based on new medical evidence been refused by the High Court of Justiciary. The three men, Brian Meighan, Kevin Kane, and David Pugh, were each sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) referred the [...]