Applicant MJ faced 15 charges of sexual offending, focusing on charge 11, which involved alleged conduct before his marriage to the complainer. He sought permission to introduce evidence about their sexual relationship prior to marriage, arguing that it could clarify the nature of their relationship. Lord Fairley noted that questions [...]

David Docherty was sentenced to 40 months for three firearms offenses and attempting to pervert justice.  The Crown argued that the temporary judge underestimated the seriousness of the crimes, which included discharging a shotgun without a license and threatening a police officer.  Although the house was unoccupied during the shotgun [...]

Iain Packer was convicted on 33 charges, including sexual assaults against nine victims and the murder of Ms. Caldwell, for which he received a life sentence with a punishment part of 36 years, backdated to February 2022. His offences involved domestic violence and assaults on sex workers, and he denied [...]

The counsel for the respondent deemed that the six-year sentence was lenient but not disproportionate.  The Crown argued that the trial judge did not fully consider the seriousness of the respondents’ actions and harm caused to the first complainer. The complainer had claimed that the encounters were consensual and [...]

Andrew Pattie, a violent offender, was given an additional 16 months in jail after escaping from a courtroom dock while being sentenced to 32 months for serious prison attacks. Pattie fled Dundee Sheriff Court on September 2, sparking a major manhunt. He evaded capture by shedding his jacket as staff [...]

The petitioner applied for early restoration of his driving licence after being convicted in 2017 for causing death by dangerous driving under the Road Traffic Act 1988. He received a 4-year and 2-month prison sentence and a 9-year driving disqualification, requiring him to pass an extended driving test. The court [...]

Nearly 200 violent offenders have been released from Scottish prisons as part of a government initiative to reduce overcrowding. The scheme, introduced in June this year after an emergency bill was passed, targets prisoners serving sentences of less than four years who were within 180 days of release. Of the [...]

A man convicted of firing a shotgun at a house in Glasgow has had his prison sentence increased from 40 months to 10 years after a successful appeal by the Crown. David Docherty, 35, originally received the 40-month sentence in April 2024 following a trial at the High Court in [...]

Michael Cowan, the appellant, was convicted of rape on 1 September 2023 and sentenced to four years of imprisonment. The conviction was based on an incident on 22 February 2020, where it was alleged that Cowan raped the complainer, JP, who was asleep or unconscious and therefore incapable of giving [...]

A former solicitor has been convicted after a failed online plot to murder a procurator fiscal. Martin Ready, 41, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder following a trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Between May 2021 and September 2022, Ready used the dark web to try to [...]