Dundee legal academic appointed to personal chair

Stuart Cross (pictured) has been appointed to a personal chair at the University of Dundee.

Published 20 January 2015

Faculty’s criminal bar association rebrands

Published 20 January 2015

Sheriff Principal Stephen appointed as Queen’s Counsel

Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen (pictured) has been appointed as Queen’s Counsel by Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of former first minister Alex Salmond.

Published 20 January 2015

New drink drive limit having adverse impact on licensed trade

The new drink drive limit imposed in December will have a greater impact on the future of pubs than the smoking ban did nearly a decade ago according to industry experts.

Published 20 January 2015

Health boards facing 1,500 legal claims

New figures have shown that health boards are straining to work through over 1,500 legal claims, some worth up to £5 million.

Published 20 January 2015

And finally... you can’t post that

A man has admitted to attempting to procreate with a postbox after he was spotted in a shopping centre in Wigan.

Published 19 January 2015

Local pupils to debate immigration controls in Law Society tournament

Pupils from schools across Scotland are getting ready to debate the pros and cons of immigration controls in the second round of the Law Society of Scotland’s national debating tournament.

Published 19 January 2015

England: New CPS guidelines to change how courts treat victims and witnesses

New guidelines put out to consultation today by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will radically change how victims and witnesses are treated in the courts.

Published 19 January 2015

Study find that eyewitnesses remember details better when they close their eyes

In a study published in the journal Legal and Criminology Psychology, researchers from the University of Surrey have argued that eyewitnesses to crimes can remember details more accurately when they close their eyes.

Published 19 January 2015

Crown Office responds to Dundee sheriff’s criticism after he threw case out

The Crown Office has responded to a Dundee sheriff’s criticism of it as “ill-informed and wrong” after he lambasted prosecutors for bringing a case to trial which fell apart in less than an hour, The Courier reports.

Published 19 January 2015

Planned property tax rates to be reviewed in budget

Deputy first minister and finance secretary John Swinney (pictured) will consider revised residential tax rates for the land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) – which will replace UK stamp duty land tax from April 2015.

Published 19 January 2015

Crofting Commission appeals to Court of Session over decrofting application

The Crofting Commission last week lodged a request that a special case be stated on a question of law for the opinion of the Court of Session in connection with the Scottish Land Court’s decision of 18 December 2014 in the case of MacGillivray v Crofting Commission.

Published 19 January 2015

Former solicitor general launches new attack on plans to scrap corroboration

Lord McCluskey, the former solicitor general, has launched another attack on the Scottish government’s plans to get rid of corroboration.

Published 19 January 2015

Sheriff rules in favour of SLAB in dispute over solicitor’s fee following accused’s change of plea

A lawyer who is instructed by a person initially represented by a duty solicitor is only entitled to payment of half of the fixed fee where the accused changes their plea to guilty prior to the commencement of the trial or where the client offers a “mixed plea”.

Published 19 January 2015

And finally... 'For gold conjures up a mist about a man, more destructive ... than the fumes of charcoal.'

Two wealthy couples who have spent half a million pounds battling it out in court over a “few feet” of muddy ditch between their properties have been admonished by judges for their “absurd” waste of money.

Published 19 January 2015