Mitchell Skilling

The High Court of Justiciary has declined to issue a guideline judgment on the issue of sentencing in rape cases after three appeals by the Crown against what it considered to be unduly lenient sentences for three accused convicted of raping their domestic partners. It was argued by the Crown in all

A Lord Ordinary has granted decree for damages to the family of a woman who died in hospital after an attempted suicide after ruling that clinical negligence on the part of the health board that treated her had been established. Violet Paterson, the mother of the deceased Lynette Gibson, as well as

A man convicted under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 for loitering near the primary school where his child attended while his ex-partner was there to collect her has had his conviction quashed by the Sheriff Appeal Court. Appellant Scotland Walker argued that the trial sheriff had erred in r

A man who was injured while working as an HGV driver has won an appeal in the Sheriff Appeal Court against a sheriff’s decision that the entire matter had been settled following a settlement with one of two defenders. Thomas Ward was employed by ADR Network, the second defender and respondent,

A man who was convicted of stabbing another man at a bus stop outside a high-rise block in Glasgow and sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment as a result has lost an appeal against his conviction and sentence in the High Court of Justiciary. Richard Gordon was convicted of the attempted murder of

One of the parties charged with, but later acquitted of, fraud in connection with an allegedly fraudulent scheme to acquire Rangers Football Club in 2011 has lost a reclaiming motion challenging the decision of the Lord Ordinary to refuse claims for damages against the Lord Advocate and the Chief Co

The proprietors of a country house and estate near Stirling have lost an appeal against a decision to amend a core path through a Scottish national park to allow the public access through land surrounding their estate. The petitioners, a charity which owned Gartmore House and the surrounding Gartmor

A law student who alleged that her human rights had been breached as a result of her university’s handling of a complaint made against her has had her case dismissed by a sheriff in Dundee Sheriff Court. Lisa Keogh, who had a behavioural complaint made against her in March 2021 which was ultim

A petition by a British citizen who was raised in France challenging a decision to refuse a request that he be transferred from a Scottish prison to a French prison where he would serve a shorter custodial sentence has been refused by a Lord Ordinary. Thomas Wainwright had been sentenced to 12 years

The High Court of Justiciary has restored the conviction of a private hire taxi driver who was charged with making a sexual verbal communication at two passengers after an appeal by the Procurator Fiscal in Edinburgh. Respondent Faisal Aziz had previously had his conviction quashed after a successfu

An organisation that sought to challenge revised statutory guidance issued by the Scottish Ministers regarding what is meant by a “woman” for the purposes of the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 has had its petition for judicial review refused by the Scottish Mi

A Crown Bill of Advocation in respect of a sheriff’s decision to adjourn and later desert a trial diet for a serving soldier accused of sexually and physically assaulting another soldier has been refused by the Sheriff Appeal Court. Respondent Ryan Cooper had been placed under special bail con

The Inner House of the Court of Session has made an order for two solicitors to deliver a file to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission that it had sought as part of a complaint investigation into them, under exception of any privileged material contained in it. It had previously been held by the

The Inner House of the Court of Session has refused an appeal by a manufacturer of cigarette papers against a finding that the company that handled the maintenance of their printing machines was only liable for just over £3,000 of an approximately £29 million loss, and assoilzied the def

A challenge to the legislative competence of part of Scottish legislation aimed at reducing a perceived imbalance in the relationship between the landlords of “tied pubs” and their tenants has been refused by a Lord Ordinary in the Outer House of the Court of Session. Petitioners Greene