Our Legal Heritage

Ronnie Clancy KC writes about a sensational murder trial stemming from a toxic political rivalry and scurrilous journalism that took place in the High Court in Edinburgh 200 years ago, the full version of which appears on his blog Read me my Rights. The accused was the survivor of a duel betwee

As Halloween approaches, the perennially popular witch costume will be donned by guisers across the country, Professor Bill Naphy writes. Images of witches have appeared in various forms throughout history – from evil, wart-nosed women huddling over a cauldron of boiling liquid to hag-faced, c

A dead lover, traces of poison and series of letters that led to a middle-class woman on the stand – the case of Madeleine Smith held all the characteristics of a scandal to rock Victorian Scotland. True crime enthusiasts are in for a treat as the University of Dundee’s Leverhulme Resear

The bland reference in many books to ‘lawyers’ may understate seriously the exact nature of the work done in practice. Individual histories of firms and individuals provide an insight as to the formation of firms, their longevity and the work of the solicitors and their staff. Several di

A legal job can be stressful in many ways at the best of times. Allan Ker WS, however, had a very difficult time that is unlikely to have been matched by many others in the profession although some of his contemporaries would doubtless understand the difficulties. Allan Ebenezer Ker was born in Edin

The recent focus on Britain’s involvement in slavery has obscured the fact that slavery also existed in Scotland, writes Robert Shiels.

Death and taxes are inevitable, and following the former kindly obituaries may and often do follow but a recitation of platitudes was not always certain in earlier times, writes Robert Shiels. The death of Sir Archibald Alison in 1867 produced an obituary that must, surely, be seen as being not

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Tom O’Connor considers the courageous conduct of two German judges who remained true to their principles and stood up to the Nazis. The shameful conduct of German judges under the Hitler regime was symbolised by the appalling behaviour of the fa

What is our legal heritage? The question arises from the legal career of one Scot who left Scotland and then succeeded in another legal jurisdiction, writes Dr Robert Shiels. Perhaps another way of considering the question suggested is to ask: whose legal heritage is it anyway? The free movement of

St Patrick’s Day has long been a date of special significance in the Irish diaspora calendar, with Irish communities across the world marking the occasion with parades and céilís. This year in particular will see millions of people celebrating the day together for the first time

As the US passes a bill named for a young boy whose brutal racist murder shocked America and the wider world, SLN takes at look at the the case and the injustice that followed. On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African American boy from Chicago, was tortured and murdered by t

The Stair Society has highlighted a fascinating remnant from Edinburgh's legal past in the form of sanctuary stones, which offered safe refuge to debtors. It tweeted: "The streets of Edinburgh have some fascinating links with legal history. An example is the sanctuary stones outside Holyrood Palace.

In part two of his reflection on the life of Henry Dundas, Chris Holme retells the episode that would be his undoing, see part one here. It was a banking scandal on an epic scale involving flagrant misuse of public funds and fearless investigators.

Chris Holme looks at the life of Henry Dundas, a controversial figure who has come under scrutiny this year in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. He’s the man I walk past every day but never get to see up close. That’s because he’s 140 feet up in St Andrew Square –

The outbreak of war in 1914 prompted a business dispute that ultimately reached the House of Lords and influenced reform to English law. Kate Scarborough explains the details of the case. Cantiere San Rocco SA v Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Co Ltd [1923] SC (HL) 105 concerned a