Case Reports

A witness in an assault trial who was found in contempt of court for “prevaricating” has had a petition to the nobile officium of the High Court of Justiciary refused. Ria Kenyon had given a statement to police in which she said she saw the accused punch the complainer, but in her evidence she w

A nurse with a history of mental health and addiction problems, who was struck off after stealing drugs from a hospital for her personal use following a hearing that she did not attend, has successfully appealed against the decision. A judge in the Court of Session quashed the decision by the Nursin

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has failed in an attempt to have a damages claim against it dismissed in an action brought by the adult stepchildren and grandchildren of a former Rosyth dockyard worker who died from an asbestos-related condition. A judge in the Court of Session allowed the claim to pr

A man deemed “unfit to stand trial” after he had been found guilty of rape has successfully appealed against his conviction and sentence. Charles Murphy was convicted of seven charges involving serious assault, rape, lewd and libidinous practices, indecent assault and assault with intent to rape

Prosecutors successfully challenged a judge’s decision to acquit a man accused of rape after a juror left the jury room to make a personal phone call after they had begun their deliberations. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that acquittal was “not the appropriate remedy” and that in the circum

The Lord Advocate has been refused permission to appeal to the UK Supreme Court after a British businessman wanted by authorities in Taiwan to serve a prison sentence won a human rights appeal against a decision to extradite him. Zain Dean was sentenced to four years imprisonment after being convict

A murderer who sought reduction of his conviction to manslaughter on the basis the statutory test for the Scots-derived defence of diminished responsibility requires that the judge defines for the jury the word “substantial” in “substantially impaired” has had his appeal unanimously dismisse

A paedophile who was jailed for six years after being found guilty of a series of historic sexual offences has had his custodial term increased following an appeal by the Crown on the grounds of “undue leniency”. Gordon Collins, 59, who was convicted of a charge of common law rape and a further

A sheriff’s decision not to impose a sentence on a woman convicted of a statutory breach of the peace and carrying a meat cleaver in public because there was no prosecutor in court when the case called has been successfully appealed by the Crown. The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court passed a

A motorist found guilty of dangerous driving after crossing over onto the opposite carriageway while “admiring the scenery” and crashing into an oncoming vehicle has lost an appeal in which she claimed she ought to be have been convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving. The Sheriff Appe

A husband who claimed his wife had “willingly engaged” in sexual activity with another man after he was accused of “coercing” her to do it has had an application to question her about two alleged extra-marital affairs rejected. The accused had intended to attack the complainer’s credibilit

Prosecutors successfully challenged a trial judge’s decision to desert a trial against three men accused of breaking into banks and blowing open cash machines. The trial judge had become “increasingly frustrated” at the Crown’s handling of the case and refused a motion to adjourn the trial w

A Palestinian who had been granted refugee status in Syria prior to entering the UK unlawfully has failed in an appeal against a decision to refuse his claim for asylum. The Inner House of the Court of Session rejected the appellant’s argument that, as a “stateless” person, the EU “Qualifica

A Scots lawyer who acted in child contact and contempt of court proceedings for a former contestant on the BBC reality show The Apprentice has been found guilty of professional misconduct. Jane Steer, 45, was censured by the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) after she notarised an af

of third parties. The body must be prepared within a very short time of death, ideally within minutes and at most within a few hours. Arrangements then have to be made for it to be transported by a registered funeral director to the premises in the United States where it is to be stored. “Evident