Case Reports

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

An Iraqi national facing deportation who appealed against a decision of the Court of Appeal to remit an appeal to the Upper Tribunal has had his appeal dismissed by judges in the Supreme Court on the basis the Upper Tribunal failed to take into account the Immigration Rules and his immigration statu

A Tunisian man has had his article 8 appeal against a deportation order unanimously dismissed by judges in the Supreme Court because the material available to the Home Secretary could admit of no conclusion other than it was unlikely in the extreme that he would develop a relationship with his child

A man found guilty of posting “threatening” messages on a former partner’s Facebook page following a dispute over contact with the ex-couple’s child has successfully appealed against his conviction. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that the sheriff erred in repelling a defence submission of �