Plans to conduct High Court trials using remote jury centres are now underway and the first trials are expected to start at the end of September. Following the recommendation from Lady Dorrian's Restarting Solemn Trials Working Group, the first trials will be based in selected ODEON cinemas and are
Jury
Herbert Kerrigan QC has suggested that proposals for non-jury trials in solemn cases be rejected. Last week the Scottish government had sought to pass legislation that would remove juries from solemn trials for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic.
A former senior judge has said efforts should be made to preserve jury trials during the pandemic after the Scottish government attempted to pass legislation allowing solemn trials to be conducted without juries. Crossbench peer Lord Hope of Craighead's comments come after the governm
The criminal bar has welcomed a decision by ministers to withdraw their plan for trial without jury, and vowed to help “find a temporary solution to this temporary problem”. The Scottish Criminal Bar Association (SCBA) had strongly condemned a provision in the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill
The Scottish government is delaying controversial plans to abolish juries in solemn trials for the duration of the coronavirus emergency after a furious backlash from the legal profession and outraged politicians. The bill, which was introduced only yesterday by Constitution Secretary
The latest episode of the University of Glasgow School of Law podcast features Professors Fiona Leverick and James Chalmers discussing their findings for the Scottish Jury Research Project with Dr Alan Brown. Commissioned by the Scottish government, the research was undertaken jointly with Prof
Major research into how juries reach decisions and how they are influenced by factors including the size of the jury, the number of verdicts available and the type of majority required has been published. The UK's largest ever mock jury study was commissioned by the Scottish government to inform the
A profoundly deaf man has served as a juror in England and Wales in what is believed to be a legal first. Matthew Johnston, 54, served on three trials at Blackfriars Crown Court over a two-week period, The Guardian reports.