Mitchell Skilling

The Sheriff Appeal Court has held that being in possession of a knife for the purpose of using it to commit suicide is not a reasonable excuse in terms of section 49(4) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 after an appeal against conviction was raised on that basis. The appellant,

A former postal apprentice who was unable to consistently use disabled parking bays at his workplace has been awarded £2,700 in compensation by an employment tribunal. The claimant, Mr S Johnstone, also claimed that he had been subject to a number of discriminatory acts relating to his disabil

A clinical negligence case raised against the Grampian Health Board by a woman who claimed to have suffered back pain following a caesarean section has been refused by a lord ordinary.  Arlene Chisholm claimed that a spinal anaesthesia had been performed negligently prior to the operation, leav

A judicial review petition challenging the policy of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to withhold compensation for victims with unspent criminal convictions has been refused by the Outer House of the Court of Session. A, the petitioner, had applied to CICA, the second respondent, for com

A judge in the Outer House of the Court of Session has found that an airline was liable for injuries sustained by a paraplegic man who fell out of a wheelchair being pushed by one of its employees on an air bridge. Colin Mather, the pursuer, had flown from Edinburgh to Hamburg, Germany, on a flight

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a man who along with his brother was convicted of aggravated burglary in County Down, Northern Ireland, against the decision of the sentencing judge to reduce the amount of his sentencing discount. Owen Maughan contended that the sentencing judge had n

A newly published judgment from 2019 details how former Scottish MP Natalie McGarry, who was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for embezzlement that year, won an appeal against a sheriff’s decision not to allow her to withdraw her guilty pleas, with the Crown granted authority fo

A Qatari couple whose four daughters fled to the UK in January 2020 after facing abuse at home have been unsuccessful in an action seeking an order for the return of their youngest daughter. Pursuers ZA and MN sought a specific issue order for the return of M, aged 13, to Qatar. All four sisters wer

A prisoner serving a life sentence for murder has lost an appeal against a decision to refuse him legal aid to pursue a challenge against a freedom of information request refusal in the UK Supreme Court. William Beggs argued that his case engaged the rights afforded to him by article 6 of the ECHR.

The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by a mail order company seeking repayment from HMRC of sums it claimed should have been regarded as recoverable VAT. Zipvit Ltd, which had mistakenly never been charged VAT for use of a special mail service provided by Royal Mail, argued that part of thei

A £290,000 award to the son of a man who died after sustaining injuries on a diving boat has been overturned after an appeal by the boat’s operators to the Inner House of the Court of Session. The action was originally raised by the man’s wife, Debbie Warner, on behalf of their you

An application for permission to appeal to the Inner House of the Court of Session by a woman with a mental disorder seeking to prevent a guardianship order being imposed has been refused on the grounds of competence. An application by the woman, JK, for leave to appeal to the Court of Session had a

An appeal by a tanning business against an order to compensate an employee after she suffered permanent hearing damage due to being instructed to work with a faulty fire alarm has been refused by the Sheriff Appeal Court. It was argued by Indigo Sun Retail Ltd that the sheriff had erred in finding i

A man who drove a lorry while drunk on from Stracathro to Stonehaven on a dark November night has lost an appeal against his sentence in the Sheriff Appeal Court.  Timothy Humphreys was disqualified from driving for 3 years and 7 months and sentenced to 6 months’ cumulo imprisonment after

An English judge has ruled that a bookmaker was not obliged to pay out over £250,000 after one of its agents registered a bet ten times higher than the one actually placed by a customer on a single horse race. The claimant, James Longley, argued that on a proper construction of the words he ex