Keith Brown will replace Humza Yousaf as Justice Secretary as part of a cabinet shake-up in the aftermath of the 2021 election. Mr Brown, a veteran MSP who currently serves as deputy leader of the SNP,  takes over from Mr Yousaf at a time of great uncertainty from criminal practitioners [...]

Figures released by the Scottish Government have indicated that convictions for violent crime, such as attempted murder, assault and armed robbery, have increased by over 20% for the year 2019/20. Conviction rates for serious assault and attempted murder are at the highest level in over a decade with just under [...]

The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service have announced that following restrictions being eased from 17th May, they are aiming to increase the amount of summary trials being heard back to maximum safe capacity for each courtroom.  The SCTS have also announced that Justice of Peace Courts will resume operation from [...]

A boycott of courts by defence lawyers has been launched, lasting all-day on Monday 17th May. This is in response to what many defence solicitors see as unfair treatment by the Scottish Government over legal aid. According to the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association, only £2.3million of the Government’s legal aid [...]

Statistics released today by the Scottish Government regarding the national prison population show a growing proportion of sex offenders amongst Scotland’s prison population. According to the figures, there was a 100% increase in sex offenders as a proportion of all prisoners between 2009 and 2020. A decade ago, just 8% of all [...]

Mark Kirkby and Ku Wing Kwok have been convicted of transporting handguns after pleading guilty at the High Court in Glasgow. The pair, who were involved in the sale of the guns at a golf club in North Ayrshire, were jailed for 5 years each. The convictions came following a Police Scotland [...]

The Herald has reported that the Scottish Solicitors’ Bar Association (SSBA) has expressed criticism of the Crown office app used to book Pre-intermediate Diet Meetings (PIDMs). Concerns have been raised as to the functionality of the app, as well as its overly-complicated user interface. According to Julia McPartlin, president of the SSBA, [...]

The appellant had appealed against the competency of three charges brought against him under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, in relation to exposing himself to children on social media. The appellant argued that as the original charges libelled by the Crown did not contain a locus and that this was only [...]

The Sheriff Appeal Court in this case has imposed a community payback order in place of an admonishment, following a Crown appeal. The respondent, John Donnelly, was convicted in February 2020 of assaulting his ex-wife. Following the two day trial, the summary Sheriff admonished Mr Donnelly and decided not to impose any [...]

Figures announced by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service show that 468 solemn cases at Sheriff level were concluded in March, indicating an increase of nine percent over pre-covid levels when compared to figures from 2019/20. However, the SCTS also announced that despite an uptick in cases being cleared, there has [...]