Case Reports

A man convicted of raping a woman who appealed against his conviction on the basis that the trial judge had erred in allowing certain evidence has had the appeal refused.  Michael Whorlton argued that the evidence should have been excluded as it constituted inadmissible hearsay, its admitt

A man accused of rape who applied under section 275 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 to admit evidence of the complainer’s character has had his appeal against the preliminary hearing judge’s refusal of his application refused. The appellant, CH, was accused o

A former apprentice mechanic who was involved in a road-accident while testing a client’s Harley-Davidson motorbike has successfully obtained an award of damages after being involved in a road accident that gave him a phobia of being killed or injured on a motorbike. Stuart Conway was wor

A sex offender who was convicted of indecently assaulting his cousin, who died before the beginning of the trial diet, has had his appeal against the conviction on the grounds that the trial was unfair refused. The appellant, AS, was also convicted of the indecent assault, attempted rape, and r

The environmental organisation Greenpeace has had its petition for judicial review of the decision to allow the development of a North Sea oil field refused. The Secretary of State for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, the first respondent to the petition, granted consent to BP

A trio of young offenders have successfully appealed the punishment parts of life sentences imposed on them after their joint murder of a man in Edinburgh, reducing them by two to four years each.  Keiran McMillan (or Elliott), Aron McMillan, and Levi Hunter (or Brown) were

A taxi driver who had his licence suspended by a local authority on the ground of no longer being a fit and proper person to hold such a licence has had his appeal against the decision refused.  Scott McMillan argued that West Lothian Council had made several errors in their cons

The Sheriff Appeal Court (Civil Division) has ruled that a man who applied for financial provision following the end of a long cohabitation period has had his appeal against the sheriff’s decision not to make an award in his favour refused.  George Duthie, the pursuer and appell

A company that sought monies from a former director who sought to bring derivative proceedings against it under section 266 of the Companies Act 2006 has successfully appealed the decision of the sheriff to grant leave for such proceedings.  Kenneth Sinclair, the pursuer and responden

The murderer of Aberdeen-born woman Neomi Smith, who was also convicted of minor assaults and behaving in an abusive or threatening manner towards her, has had his appeal against his sentence refused. Keith Rizzo, who was the deceased’s partner at the time, argued that the sentence imposed on

A subcontractor involved in the Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Project has succeeded in establishing that the main contractor of the project breached the terms of their contract by omitting work within the scope of the subcontract and transferring it to other companies.  The pursuer, Van Oord UK Lt

The High Court of Justiciary has granted an order allowing the son of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset Al Megrahi, to appeal against his late father’s conviction, following a referral of the case by the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC). Mr Megrahi’s

A former employee of a company that ceased trading in 2017 has failed in his appeal to obtain £750,000 due to him after being injured at work from the company’s former insurer.  Owen Hannaway originally presented a summary application under the Administration of Justice (Scotland) A

The former husband of a woman who sought divorce on the grounds of unreasonable behaviour has succeeded in appealing the manner in which the matrimonial property was divided.  Allan Neill, the defender and appellant, who was not opposed to the granting of the divorce, argued that the sheriff ha

A woman who sought to undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment using her late husband’s sperm has succeeded in obtaining an order allowing its use for that purpose despite his not signing the relevant forms.  The petitioner, SB, wished to pursue IVF as it was the most likely method