Juries

Even by the standards of today’s enfeebled and anaemic media, the lack of coverage of the death of Clive Ponting who passed away last week at his home in Kelso is remarkable. It is also lamentable. Ponting was a young, high-flying civil servant who could not live with the lie Margaret Thatcher

Brian McConnachie QC has reflected on the success of the first trial since lockdown in Glasgow, saying we must "ensure that trial by jury survives the pandemic as it survived [the] World Wars". Mr McConnachie tweeted that while it was "odd at first to see an empty jury box" it quickly became "incons

The first jury trial in Scotland since lockdown ran smoothly this week and made use of digital technology to support a remote jury. The case held at the High Court in Edinburgh followed a new format adhering to physical distancing guidelines and returned a verdict of not proven.

The Open University is seeking practitioners' views on the Scottish criminal system. Lawyers are invited to complete a questionnaire which will investigate their attitudes to the three-verdict system, simple majority and 15-member jury.

High Court trials will restart on 20 July in Edinburgh and 21 July in Glasgow in new formats designed to ensure a safe and secure process for all involved, in compliance with public health guidelines on physical distancing and hygiene. The trials have been arranged following discussions of the Resta

It is no surprise that one of the prime aims of China’s new national security law aimed at suppressing Hong Kong’s democracy movement published yesterday is the abolition of trial by jury. The elimination of the right to trial by one’s peers is always one of the first targets of au

No measure will be implemented to address Scotland's backlog of criminal cases that would compromise fair trials, the Lord President has said. Lord Carloway said he will "not contemplate any measure to aid recovery which might compromise the basic principle of a fair trial" in dealing with the backl

The first jury citations for potential jurors to be issued since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown have today been sent out in preparation for High Court trials to restart in Edinburgh and Glasgow in July. Safety for all participants is the key component of the planning and preparation for jury tri

Advocate Ximena Vengoechea examines the need for juries following a failed attempt to remove them from certain cases earlier this year. It is said that we need juries because accused persons have the right to be judged by their peers. It is the way we have done for centuries, after all. The sys

A QC has suggested a roving High Court would be a solution to dealing with the backlog of criminal cases. Appearing before Holyrood's Justice Committee, Ronnie Rennuci QC, president of the Scottish Criminal Bar Association, said a solution to the stalemate would be “putting the High Court back

High Court jury trials are to restart in July, the Lord Justice Clerk, Lady Dorrian has announced. Lady Dorrian is leading a working group with representatives from across the justice sector on recommencing jury trials during the lockdown.

The head of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service has told Holyrood's Justice Committee that judge-only trials were “not completely off the table”. The Scottish government's original proposals along these lines were met with a furious backlash. Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf thereaft

The Society of Solicitor Advocates has expressed opposition to the suggestion by the Scottish government that juries be abolished in solemn trials for the duration of the coronavirus emergency. The option, which was tabled again by the Scottish government last week but which is not expected to appea

Despite a furious backlash from the legal profession, the Scottish government is still actively considering the suspension of jury trials.

The Scottish government is attempting to give ministers the power to allow solemn trials to be conducted without juries and to "dismantle in one fell swoop more than 600 years of legal principle" in a move described as a "knee-jerk reaction" at best and something "far more sinister" at worst. The Sc