Letters

Dear Editor, Murder is broadly defined and universally recognised as the wilful destruction of human life with unlawful intent. The "intent" required needs to be “unlawful” and the “destruction” needs to be “wilful” which generally means that you can’t commi

I will have been a member of the Scots bar for 30 years come December, although recently I have been non-practising. In anticipation of my future return to work I get legal updates from a variety of sources. One such update, via my clerks, came from FACBA [Faculty of Advocates Criminal Bar Associati

Dear Editor, In his opinion piece on the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, published yesterday, Douglas Cusine states that there is no evidence for the assertion that jurors rely on so-called “rape myths” that does not come from mock trials. This is not the first ti

In the second of two letters, retired solicitor Chris Forrest details his experiences with the Law Society of Scotland. In my last letter I narrated the circumstances giving rise to my complaints to SLCC which arose from my perceived conduct of the Director of Regulation at the Law Society and how t

In the first of two letters, retired solicitor Chris Forrest details his experiences with the Law Society of Scotland. Dear Editor,

Dear Editor, In what is said to be the former First Minister’s first intervention on a policy issue, she is reported as saying that the backlash by lawyers against plans for juryless trials for rape cases is a sign that Scottish politics is polarised. I may be alone in failing to understand wh

The Dundee criminal defence agents met on Wednesday 3 May, and it was a unanimous decision that they will not be taking part in the Scottish government's planned juryless trials pilot scheme. After this meeting I noted numerous Bar Associations and Faculties doing the same thing. On Tuesday 9 May, w

Dear Editor, Each day we read about new aspects of the UK government’s Illegal Migration Bill presently going through Parliament. We are now told that “exempting children arriving in the UK on small boats from detention would create a 'pull factor' and would put minors at risk”. Th

Dear Editor, Kevin Drummond was quite properly advising, or even exhorting, sheriffs to be vigilant to ensure that those in the Scottish Court Service (SCS), as it then was, did not attempt to interfere with their judicial function. Sadly, some thought his warnings were “over the top”. N

Dear Editor Over 20 years ago a consultation was announced by the then Scottish Executive entitled "Strengthening Judicial Independence." Judicial Independence was not at that time in need of any "strengthening". The real purpose of the exercise was to be found in the alternative title of the consul

Dear Editor, I agree entirely with the comments made by Frances McMenamin KC regarding juryless trials. She has long experience of the courts and because of that she speaks with authority and her observations should not be ignored. In response to her, a Scottish government spokesperson is reported a

Dear Editor, Andrew Stevenson of the Scottish Law Agents Society, in his article of 7 November 2022, noted a period when the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission Board had fewer than the intended legal members on it.

Dear Editor, The Scottish Legal News [headline] from 3 November on the publication of our 2021-22 report to the Scottish Parliament ["Abject failure of Scotland’s FOI regime highlighted by irritated public"] isn’t reflective of the text in the article that follows and isn’t support

Dear Editor, I quote from your article of 16th May regarding the delay in title registrations:

Retired Irish barrister Bill Shipsey, a former chair of Amnesty International Ireland, pens an open letter to former senator Lord Glennie over his controversial role on the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) courts. Dear Angus Glennie,