Judge demands explanation for Crown disclosure failing that saw attempted murder trial collapse
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Lady Scott
The Lord Advocate has been told to explain the “abject failure” of the Crown to disclose vital evidence to defence lawyers, The Courier reports.
Prosecutors’ failure to disclose information resulted in the collapse of an attempted murder trial last week in the High Court of Justiciary.
James Wolffe QC has now been ordered to explain why the Crown gave the task of gathering crucial evidence to another department, without adequate supervision – a practice that has now been brought to an end.
The High Court in Livingston heard that there had been a sharp increase in serious and organised crime prosecutions as well as staff absences.
The result was that the £12,000 per day trial had to be abandoned after three days.
The accused was on trial for violently attacking a 62-year-old man to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and danger of life.
George Wright, 38, denied attempted murder and other offences.
Prosecutors will now have to ensure all evidence is available before deciding whether to re-indict the case against Mr Wright.
Lady Scott said she demanded a full explanation for the “apparent failure of the Crown in their statutory duty to disclose that information”.
“The explanation for this delay which has been given to the court was essentially that the outsourcing of the preparation of this case had taken place and failures had resulted from that process,” she said.
“I was also told that there had been changes in practice since.
“I am not satisfied that this is a satisfactory explanation and I will be writing to the lord advocate.
“As a result of this abject failure by the Crown, and the absence of proper assurance that the obligation for disclosure has been met – and no date can be given to the court for the assurances to be given – I consider that the only remedy at this stage is to desert the trial.”
A Crown Office spokesman said: “We note the decision of the court.
“We will carefully review the issues raised by the court in this case to identify any opportunities to improve our working practices and the service we deliver for the people of Scotland.
“In the meantime, we will take steps to bring this case back before the court as soon as possible.”
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