Case Reports

The son of a woman with Alzheimer’s disease who challenged a decision of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (MHTS) to make a compulsory treatment order (CTO) in relation to his mother has had his appeal refused. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Session upheld a ruling of the sheriff

The man found guilty of the “limbs in the loch” murder has had an appeal against a decision of the Scottish Information Commissioner concerning a freedom of information request he made to the Scottish Prison Service refused. William Beggs alleged that commissioner Rosemary Agnew made “fundamen

Two accused persons charged with being concerned in the supply of cannabis resin after their car was stopped and “unlawfully” searched by police have had their appeals against a sheriff’s decision to dismiss their challenge to the admissibility of the evidence of the search refused. The Crimin

A Scottish local authority has been granted permanence orders in relation to three sibling children whose mother had a history of alcohol abuse, after a judge in the Court of Session ruled that it would be “better” for each of the three boys that an order be made than not. Lord Brailsford (pictu

The owner of a fire-damaged church whose claim on an insurance policy was repudiated by insurers has had a counterclaim for indemnification for losses arising from the blaze dismissed by a judge in the Court of Session. Lord Boyd of Duncansby (pictured) heard that in January 1998 the defender Lady I

A woman who was jailed for a minimum of 20 years after being found guilty of murdering a vulnerable neighbour has had an appeal against the sentence imposed refused. The main ground of appeal concerned the appellant’s medical and mental condition and the fact that she had undergone gender reassign

The Criminal Appeal Court has issued an opinion designed to highlight the point that a decision of a sifting judge must relate to the questions posed in a stated case and not to the content of any earlier application to the court. The Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Carloway (pictured), observed that while

The owner of an abandoned heard of pigs and flock of hens has failed in an appeal against a sheriff’s decision to allow a Scottish local authority to take the animals into care and sell them. Judges in the Inner House of the Court of Sessionrefused an appeal by Kevin Martin, who claimed that the s

An English Premier League football club has been held “vicariously liable” after one of its youth team players suffered a cardiac arrest in his first match and was left brain damaged. Radwan Hamed, who was 17 when he collapsed during a youth team game in Belgium in August 2006, raised an action

An oil company is suing the Scottish Government over claims its property is being contaminated by “hazardous chemicals” released from land used for the M74 extension. Esso Petroleum wants the Scottish Ministers to take action to prevent further escapes and is seeking damages for the cost of moni

A seriously injured girl whose contributory negligence in a car accident was assessed at 70 per cent in a decision of an Extra Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session and whose share of damages was calculated accordingly has won an appeal against the assessment by a majority of 3-2 in th

A police constable who was injured while playing the role of an attacker during an officer safety training course has had a claim for damages refused by a judge in the Court of Session. Debbie Stevenson was “strangling” a colleague on the floor of a gym when she was thrown off during an exercise

A man charged with being in possession of a class A drug with intent to supply has had his challenge to a decision to postpone his trial for five months refused. It was argued that the sheriff’s decision was “oppressive, erroneous and contrary to law”, but the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that

The Scottish Ministers have been found in contempt of court after prison officers breached an undertaking not to open an inmate’s letters. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the Scottish Prison Service took “no steps” to inform any member of its staff at HMP Glenochil about the existen

A motorist who was convicted of breach of the peace after being accused of conducting herself in a “disorderly manner” by “following” two people in her car and placing them in a state of “fear and alarm” has had her conviction quashed on appeal. The Criminal Appeal Court held that the dr