Case Reports

An unemployed motorist who was fined a total of £460 to be paid over 92 weeks after admitting driving without a licence and without insurance has successfully challenged the penalties imposed. The Sheriff Appeal Court ruled that fines were “excessive” and amounted to a “miscarriage of justice

A man who exchanged a number of “grossly offensive” and “indecent” jokes with a friend on a social networking site about the death of a child and made sexual remarks about children has successfully appealed to have his name removed from the sex offenders’ register. The Criminal Appeal Cour

The judgment in a case in which snack van operators successfully challenged a Scottish local authority ban which prevented them from trading near schools has been published. A number of street traders sought to reverse a decision of the defender, North Lanarkshire Council, to prohibit snack vans sel

A man jailed for eight years for the rape of two women has had his convictions quashed after Appeal Court judges ruled he suffered a miscarriage of justice. Lord Eassie, sitting with Lady Smith and Lady Clark of Calton ruled that Alan Clark, 40, suffered a miscarriage of justice.

A lorry driver found guilty of dangerous driving and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm, who claimed that a sheriff erred in repelling a “no case to answer” submission, had an appeal against conviction refused. The Cr

An executor of an estate has been granted reduction of a disposition in favour of a couple who claimed they regarded a residential property in which they had been living as their home. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that allowing the couple to take and remain in occupation of the property was

The son of a woman who signed deeds disposing of three properties to her other two sons has been granted decrees of reduction on the grounds of “facility and circumvention” and by “undue influence” exercised over his late mother by his brothers. A judge in the Court of Session ruled that the

A Scots law firm whose complaint to the legal complaints watchdog about the conduct of a solicitor from another firm was ruled ineligible has successfully appealed against the decision. The firm complained to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission that the lawyer may have been guilty of profession

The Crown has successfully challenged the sentence imposed on a man who pled guilty to attempting to conspire to rape and sexually assault a young girl and to take indecent photographs of her. The Criminal Appeal Court ruled that the sentence of 18 months’ imprisonment imposed was “unduly lenien

An Egyptian national who appealed against a decision of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, made in agreement with a UN committee, to freeze his assets because he was associated with Al-Qaida has had his appeal unanimously dismissed by the Supreme Court. President of the Sup

A life prisoner who challenged a decision by the prison service to increase his supervision requirement after he was suspected of being involved in the distribution of illicit substances in jail has had a petition for judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused the petition af

A retired academic who contracted a rare form of cancer which he claimed was the result of exposure to asbestos during the course of his employment at a university has had an action for £180,000 damages dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session assoilzied the defenders after ruling that the pursue

A woman who was found guilty of dangerous driving after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing into an oncoming vehicle has lost an appeal against conviction. Judges in the Criminal Appeal Court ruled that in the absence of special circumstances the act of falling asleep is a “voluntary act” a

The owner of a farmhouse destroyed by a fire who claimed that the fire service failed to properly extinguish the blaze has had an action for damages dismissed. The pursuers argued that the fire brigade was liable in damages because the fire re-ignited after it had apparently been extinguished, but j

A prisoner serving a determinate sentence who claims that the Scottish Prison Service have failed to provide him with the opportunity to show that he no longer poses a risk to the public has had an application for permission to seek judicial review dismissed. A judge in the Court of Session refused