Stuart Munro, head of criminal litigation at Livingstone Brown, considers an important technical issue that has featured in a number of recent high-profile cases. What right does a party to litigation have to use information or documents recovered in that process for other purposes? That seemingly a
Search: Scottish syndicate purchased land 1901 for £5000
A Crown appeal concerning whether it was entitled to libel in a docket the occurrence of an accused’s sexual assault conviction in another jurisdiction has been allowed by the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary. Ronald Adams, the respondent, had previously pled guilty to a simil
An independent inquiry into the malicious prosecution of two Rangers administrators will be undertaken, though not necessarily by a judge from outside of Scotland. The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, has agreed that an inquiry should take place, but only after the various cases against him are resol
Former sheriff Douglas J. Cusine asks where the responsibility lies in Scotland's malicious prosecution scandal, the greatest crisis in the history of the Crown Office. In his recent article, Douglas Mill, in a semi-jocular way, makes an extremely important point about what the Crown has accepted wa
Proposal to use terrorism laws during pandemic revealed by Scottish government in bungled disclosure
The Lord Advocate suggested using terrorism legislation to deal with the pandemic, the Scottish government has inadvertently revealed due to improperly redacting his comments in material released following a freedom of information request. James Wolffe QC told ministers that the Civil Contingencies
Children's rights organisations have backed a report calling for an end to compulsory religious worship in Scottish schools. A report by Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) highlights 30 key issues for children and young people's rights in Scotland.
In a new article Terra Firma's Neil Beynon has considered one of his own professional negligence cases which proceeded to proof and judgment. Counsel was instructed on behalf of the pursuer by Allan Black & McCaskie and Edinburgh agents, Drummond Miller.
The Glasgow Bar Association (GBA) said it is "astonished" that the Scottish government has not yet offered any financial support for legal aid firms "despite what has now been months of consideration of the profession’s proposals". In a letter to Holyrood's Justice Committee, the GBA note
The Lord Justice General has appointed Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull and Matt Jackson QC to fill vacant positions on the Scottish Sentencing Council. Sheriff Principal Turnbull replaces Sheriff Principal Ian Abercrombie following his retirement earlier this year. Mr Jackson has been appointed as
A milk delivery man who was injured while delivering milk to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh has successfully appealed against a decision granting decree of absolvitor to the gallery’s controlling organisation. Andrew Wright, an employee of Graham’s Family Dairy, orig
Rape Crisis Scotland’s proposed legal action against the Scottish government over its failure to consider non-jury trials – which the charity complains has caused unacceptable delays for rape complainers – is “paradoxical", given that Rape Crisis itself had a hand in extendin
The Open University is seeking practitioners' views on the Scottish criminal system. Lawyers are invited to complete a questionnaire which will investigate their attitudes to the three-verdict system, simple majority and 15-member jury.
Digby Brown Solicitors completed its Scottish Courts Challenge in just 10 hour and 26 minutes – and raised even more money for charity than anticipated after clocking more than 300 extra miles. On Friday last week a team of 180 walkers, runners and cyclists aimed to conquer a 1,433-mile virtua
Proposed hate crime legislation could lead to police officers determining free speech and thereby devastate the legitimacy of the police service, according to the Scottish Police Federation, which represents the police rank and file. The SPF made the comments in its consultation response to the Hate
Online mortgage broker Trussle has seen a 136 per cent increase in mortgage applications for properties in Scotland.
