Mitchell Skilling

The Crown has succeeded in challenging a sheriff’s pre-trial ruling that evidence gathered by so-called ‘paedophile hunters’ that the Crown proposed to induce at the trial of an alleged sex offender was inadmissible. The Procurator Fiscal at Dundee brought a Crown bill of

An ex-music teacher who was convicted of historic sex crimes against his former students has had an appeal against conviction and sentence refused. William Wright appealed against a conviction for indecent assault at the Appeal Court of the High Court of Justiciary, sitting in Glasgow.

A short-term prisoner who was refused early release under Home Detention Curfew (HDC) under the Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 has had his petition against the decision rejected. John Paton brought judicial review proceedings against the Scottish Government aft

A man who was found carrying a machete in a Cambuslang woodland has had his appeal against conviction for carrying an offensive weapon in public without a reasonable excuse refused. Christopher McCormick appealed against a conviction of carrying an offensive weapon under the Criminal Law (

A landlord who failed to pay a tenancy deposit into an approved deposit scheme until four years into the tenancy has been unsuccessful in challenging a payment order. Linda Searle appealed against a decision of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber (FtT) in which she

A couple who claimed their company’s solicitor had been negligent in his conduct during a purchase transaction have failed to establish negligence. Sajjad and Rumella Soofi brought an action against Jeffrey Martin Dykes for professional negligence in respect of their purchase of

A woman who appealed the granting of a contact order on the grounds that the sheriff had not ascribed appropriate weight to child evidence in light of expert evidence has had her appeal refused. The Sheriff Appeal Court, sitting in Edinburgh, heard an appeal by CM, the defender at first in

The mother of a child with selective mutism has been unsuccessful in establishing that it would be in the child’s best interests to relocate to her native Germany and have that be the child's principal residence. Sheriff Ian Cruickshank heard evidence from MK, the pursuer, who sought a residen

The Upper Tribunal for Scotland has ruled that the existence of a repairing standard enforcement order did not prevent a trust from having the requisite intention to demolish a building as per Schedule 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. The Josephine Marshall Trust appealed against a decision of

The proprietors of a Glasgow flat who discovered that the property was in need of significant repairs following the date of entry, contrary to what the building’s property factor had told them, did not have a right to complain as they lacked title when the events occurred. Dr Brian Lynas and D

A woman who disponed her property to her daughter and her husband was unable to have the disposition reduced on the ground of undue influence as the four-part test was not satisfied in the circumstances of the case. Adeline Margaret Wilson raised the action in the Outer House of the Court of Session

The sentence of a man convicted of breaking into a British Army building and stealing dummy rifles as well as possessing a prohibited firearm under the Firearms Act 1968 has been reduced on appeal in relation to the theft charge owing to his original sentences being regarded as excessive when taken

A Reporter for the Scottish Ministers was found to have erred in law by accepting without question the findings of the planning authority regarding the quantity of effective housing land supply in the area. The Inner House of the Court of Session quashed the Reporter’s decision to refuse an ap