Case Reports

A Scots lawyer who removed files from her firm’s office over fears her fellow partner in the business may be made bankrupt and following a breakdown in their working relationship has been found not guilty of professional misconduct. Lynsey McLean decided to take matters into her own hands and remo

A man accused of fraud has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to order his extradition to Poland after the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the offence he was accused of was “minor”. The judges allowed the appeal after ruling that it would be “disproportionate” to extradite him,

A Scottish lawyer who was ordered to pay compensation to clients after he was found to have provided an “inadequate professional service” in relation to the advice he gave following their purchase of a house has had an appeal against the complaints body’s finding refused. Judges in the Inner H

The right to cross-examination of an alleged sexual assault victim “does not extend to insulting or intimidating a witness” and trial judges should intervene where questioning “strays beyond proper bounds”, the Lord Justice Clerk has said. Lord Carloway added that defence lawyers should show

The Criminal Appeal Court has published its opinion following the refusal of an application by relatives of Lockerbie bombing victims who were seeking to pursue an appeal on behalf of the man convicted of the atrocity in which 270 people were killed. An application to the Scottish Criminal Cases Rev

A Scottish solicitor who entered into a sexual relationship with a “vulnerable” client has been found guilty of professional misconduct. The unnamed lawyer was fined £5,000 by the Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) for “acting in a manner that raised issues as to his trustworthine

The man charged with the murder of Irish student Karen Buckley pleaded guilty at the High Court in Glasgow yesterday. Alexander Pacteau, 21, admitted grabbing Ms Buckley by the neck and hitting her repeatedly with a spanner while sitting in his parked car in the early hours of Sunday 12 April.

A man who was convicted of a number of offences including robbery and dangerous driving after he assaulted a woman and stole her car has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to impose an extended sentence. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that a sheriff's purported disposal was “incompete

A “prominent” professional sportsman has been granted an injunction preventing a newspaper publishing a “kiss and tell” story about a sexual relationship he had with another woman before he was married. A judge at the High Court in London granted the application by the un-named married coupl

Former boxer Scott Harrison is to be extradited to Spain to serve a prison sentence for two assault convictions after a sheriff granted a warrant sought by the Lord Advocate. The former WBO Featherweight Champion was sentenced to four years imprisonment by a court in Malaga in 2012 and a European Ar

A man who claimed that his late grandmother had promised to gift him her house in a testamentary writing has had an action for conveyance of the property against the executor of the estate dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the pursuer “failed to prove that the deceased entered

A man convicted of culpable homicide who claimed he had not been given access to certain rehabilitative courses while in prison has had an action for damages refused by appeal judges. Billy Brown, who killed Steven Lennon by stabbing him in the heart during a street fight in July 2005, argued that h

A father-of-three who was convicted of a statutory breach of the peace after threatening his estranged wife has successfully challenged a sheriff’s decision to impose a non-harassment order in relation to his children. The Criminal Appeal Court quashed the order after ruling that the sheriff “di

Two men convicted on terrorism charges were illegally held in solitary confinement for lengthy periods the Supreme Court has ruled. President of the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger, Deputy President Lady Hale, Lord Sumption, Lord Reed and Lord Hodge unanimously allowed the appeals of Kamel Bourgass an

A man accused of sexually abusing his niece and nephew has been acquitted after a judge upheld a “no case to answer” submission. Lord Uist ruled that the “Moorov” doctrine could not be applied to corroborate the conduct libelled in the two charges.