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29 days into the job - and without a single researcher speaking to a single juror - the justice min goes on national TV and alleges that Scotland’s jurors act contrary to the solemn oath taken at the start of every trial - and reach verdicts based on issues outwith the evidence
Every single postmaster convicted in Scotland was prosecuted by COPFS - headed by the Lord Advocate who is part of the Scottish Executive. The FM demanded justice in January -3 months later it seems that
@scotgov
has done absolutely nothing while WM has drafted legislation
NEW: FM
@HumzaYousaf
“utterly furious” UK Gov hasn’t extended legislation to pardon sub-postmasters to Scotland - accuses ministers of using Horizon victims as “political pawns”.
“Outrageous…unfair…unacceptable”
@LBCNewsScot
Nicola Sturgeon grieving about the treatment of women? An
@snp
party member made the most horrific threats against
@joannaccherry
and - as party leader - she did not utter a single word in support of her SNP colleague. Not to mention vulnerable young women in prison less safe
Thomas Ross KC, a leading advocate who specialises in defending people accused of serious offences, has said a rebellion against the proposals is under way
X is asked to explain an extraordinary expenses claim. X suspects that the true explanation may result in refusal of the claim. X provides a false explanation. X receives a payment of expenses. Does any Scots lawyer dispute that the crime of fraud is complete at this stage?
So he gets himself into a Twitter spat with Scotland ‘s top defamation litigator - then accuses the wrong person of criminal conduct - is this the script of a 70’s ITV sitcom?
@RoddyQC
😂😂
What
@theSNP
administration has done to Glasgow city centre is absolutely shameful. Parts of it look like a war zone - the area around Central station is lawless - now with LEZ and increased parking charges they are well on the way to killing off the hospitality industry in the
If baffled by the FM’s quote. Around 100 people were prosecuted in Scotland according to COPFS statement - not prosecuted by the Post Office - prosecuted by Crown Office - headed by the Lord Advocate who is a member of the Scottish Cabinet - which is headed by the First Minister.
Spirits lifted this morning by a number of solicitors already declaring that they will take no part in legitimising non-jury trials. Hopefully our judges - who rightfully compliment jurors for the work that they do - will stand up and help us defeat this part of the Bill
This really is shocking. Glasgow City Council DID refuse
@hp_scotland
permission to use the fridge van to feed the homeless. It was only when
@STVNews
and social media embarrassed them into a rethink that the charity was asked to submit a 2nd application. Tell the truth
We are disappointed with
@KeithBrownSNP
as he misrepresents
@hp_scotland
yesterday in parliament challenging
@Douglas4Moray
for raising the very serious matter about
@GlasgowCC
refusing our fridge can along with our other x3 vehicles into the LEZ zone after us being requested by
The problem with the Hate Crime Act encapsulated in two sentences. The Act doesn’t actually change very much - but fears about its effect - and the recording of ‘non-crime hate incidents’ by Police Scotland - will result in self-censorship
"I think the enemy is self-censorship. In a free society the biggest danger is that you're afraid to the point where you censor yourself."
Tim Robbins
Award winning actor & free speech activist
You mean like a Scottish Govt Minister running the risk of lighting the old firm powderkeg by using Twitter to falsely accuse professional footballers of sectarian singing - that kind of ‘profoundly dangerous disinformation’?
John Swinney has told social media giants they need to crack down on ‘profoundly dangerous’ disinformation as concerns continue to grow that disorder could spread to Scotland. 👇 Full story
This is terrible. You can disagree with
@joannaccherry
views - as I often do - but she is an intelligent respectful individual. And in Edinburgh - too - home of the Enlightenment
It should not be possible for venues or their staff to no-platform
#lesbians
& feminists like me who believe that sex is an immutable biological fact. Such discrimination is unlawful as well as unacceptable. This needs widely called out
Another huge development - single judge trials now to be boycotted in Scotland’s two biggest population centres - Glasgow & Edinburgh - I expect many more Faculties to confirm in early course that they will follow their lead 👏👏👏👏👏
The result of our recent survey of members was overwhelmingly in favour of boycotting the single judge pilot court.
We will now discuss matters with the other Faculty Heads in the hope that a national position and strategy can be agreed.
Updates will follow
I heard you on
@BBCScotland
at 0900 - the failure of SNP members with a public profile to support you is entirely predictable - but sadly nothing compared to their failure to speak out against the threats to rape and murder you. Their silence is shameful - but sadly unsurprising
There’s no live legal action in relation to this matter & therefore nothing except perhaps cowardice to prevent any politician from commenting on what has occurred.
I had a recent short murder trial where jurors spent THREE DAYS deliberating - returning 3 times with questions - showing 100% commitment to doing justice to a complete stranger. Breathtaking fairness. And the SNP’s Justice Minister still thinks that juries can’t be trusted
Humza Yousaf's government is to planning to press ahead with controversial pilot for juryless trials for rape despite the prospect of a SNP backbench rebellion and a lawyers' boycott. 👇 Full story
The Madeleine Smith house - currently lying empty and unloved. If I ever win the lottery I plan to buy it and turn it into a museum to all the great Glasgow murder stories - Oscar Slater, Dr Prichard etc. Who’s in?
Lifts my spirits to read this. Scottish lawyers from all backgrounds - sheriffs and judges too - must speak out against this proposal. On an issue as important and fundamental to fair trial protections as this - I’m afraid even silence amounts to complicity
Completely agree. Lawyers must never be complicit in unfairness, or injustice. I will not be accepting instructions in any judge-only trials. I call upon all my colleagues to do the same.
On a day when the whole of the UK is reflecting upon how future miscarriages of justice might be prevented - the Scottish Parliament is discussing the abolition of an acquittal verdict and removing juries from the trial process
The Hate Crime Act criminalises behaviour that is threatening, abusive or insulting (s.4(1)) and behaviour that is threatening or abusive (4(2)). Nowhere does it state that such behaviour has to be "threatening and/or abusive" as stated by the Minister this afternoon.
NO firms offering civil legal aid in 139 of the most deprived communities in Scotland - a country led by a First Minister who used to work in a Law Centre - absolutely shameful -
Must be reassuring for ordinary working people receiving citations to perform jury service to learn that the Justice Minister in their own Govt thinks that they are intellectually incapable of understanding the relevant issues likely to arise in a simple rape trial
Extraordinary that an elected Member of Parliament would seek to influence the operation of the public prosecutor in this way. If there IS evidence of dishonesty on the part of any political party the duty of COPFS is to prosecute those responsible - not hide it from the voters
SNP Justice Secretary inviting people to write to him with ideas to reduce the backlog of criminal cases - anybody got the address of the cave that he has been living in since he was appointed 9 months ago?
A great week for
@FacultyScot
- Jamie Dawson KC and Usman Tariq rightly praised for their respectful forensic questioning at the UK Covid enquiry. This has been their week - but we have hundreds of other counsel doing the same up and down the country every day - quietly and
This week's superb Spectator cover.
Incidentally, what an improvement in the Covid inquiry is the forensic and incisive Scottish KC Jamie Dawson in Edinburgh compared with the preening, pompous English KC Hugo Keith doing the main interrogations on the London end.
Lawyers refuse to conduct them - judges don’t want to preside over them - hopefully this development will kill off the ‘juryless trials’ proposal completely
Sometimes objection is taken to a fact finder known to be less than impartial - but are the facts here disputed by MM? If not - where is the prejudice? If a judge in a sentencing statement calls an admitted fraudster a fraudster is the sentencing process flawed? Painful to watch
BREAKING: First Minister John Swinney says he will not support a sanction against Michael Matheson which would see the former health secretary suspended for 27 days.
"I believe this process has been prejudiced."
#FMQs
When a restaurant goes to all the trouble of creating a legal-themed cocktail - I believe its the duty of any legal professional -the day before a holiday Monday - to try at least one?
Press release being issued about specific aspects of the proposed Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland ) Bill introduced to the Scottish Parliament yesterday
‘Drugs policy is ALL reserved to the UK Govt’ - Kate Forbes on Peston. This is completely untrue. The 1971 Act is reserved but drugs policy is not. If it is why does her Govt have a Minister for Drugs Policy at Holyrood? Shameful attempt to displace blame for drugs death scandal
While drug policy in Scotland is a reserved matter controlled by the UK government, drug treatment and rehabilitation are devolved issues managed by the Scottish Government.
@_KateForbes
Despite this, our treatment system is failing, evidenced by the fact that Scotland has 3.5
I have so much admiration for
@Annemarieward
who speaks informed sense every single time she is interviewed about the drugs deaths crisis. Her unflinching honesty shames the ScotGov and its yearly attempts to spin and obfuscate its way out of an international embarrassment
Thank you ever so much,
@SkyNews
, for giving our CEO,
@Annemarieward
, the platform yesterday to expose the staggering failures and utter lack of accountability in Scotland's addiction sector. We are beyond grateful for the opportunity to highlight the
@scotgov
's relentless denial
This is what we are up against. The First Minister described the ‘pretend jury’ survey as ‘the most comprehensive jury research undertaken in the entire UK’. The authors didn’t communicate with a single juror. In 2019 Prof Cheryl Thomas surveyed 771 jurors from 4 different areas
Sign of concerns among some SNP backbenchers about the pilot scheme for rape trials to be presided over by a single judge without a jury as FM pressed on the plans by two of his party's MSPs.
I am surprised how little reaction there has been to the news that Police Scotland have been gathering intelligence on
@AamerAnwar
. A very sinister development that calls for a full investigation by a trusted party independent of Govt
@scottishlegal
Having read some comments to this post - I feel obliged to remind people that
@joannaccherry
was a very well respected QC before she went to Westminster - and had she stayed at the bar instead of seeking election - every year she would have earned a lot more than an MPs salary
I’ve decided to step back from frontline politics for a while. My last column for the
@ScotNational
sets out why. I remain a member of
@theSNP
& I hope the reflection & radical change that is needed will come but I want timeout.
Thank you
@PeterAdamSmith
- so short of legalising heroin and other controlled drugs
@Scotgovt
can do anything that they want to tackle the drugs deaths crisis - but instead they choose to blame Westminster for their own failures
@Annemarieward
Kate Forbes says here “drug policy is reserved” to UK. She is Deputy FM of a gov in Scotland that has a Minister for Drugs & Alcohol Policy.
Scotland has powers for health, public health, drug treatment, rehab, and recovery but the Misuse of Drugs Act (criminality) is reserved.
I have had discussions which lead me to believe that there will be a very significant development today in the campaign to boycott juryless trials - more later 👏👏👏
Thomas Ross KC, a leading advocate who specialises in defending people accused of serious offences, has said a rebellion against the proposals is under way
First Minister having a nice day out at University committing to ‘enhancing human rights’ - while the remand population triples, victims and accused wait 3 years for an outcome and lawyers leave the legal aid sector in droves.
@scottishlegal
This week the FM is complaining about vexatious complaints - last week all 4 SNP members of the Justice Committee voted in favour of doing away with juries in rape cases. Are they smart enough to see the connection?
An absolute disgrace.
@hp_scotland
helping
@GlasgowCC
discharge obligations to the homeless of the city - under a threat of a fine every time their van enters LEZ zone. Give them an exemption today before u embarrass yourselves further
@LeaderGCC
- you bring shame on Glasgow
Finally the penny seems to have dropped for
@scotgov
- sometimes people make allegations of criminal conduct that are not entirely truthful. When they do sometimes the target of the allegation is acquitted
It is completely misleading to talk of UK Govt ‘extending’ legislation to every UK nation - Justice is not devolved to the Welsh Assembly and when the scandal broke Northern Ireland didn’t have a functioning Assembly. PS it had nothing to do with Royal Mail
The UK Government's decision to extend Horizon legislation to every nation in the UK except Scotland is scandalous. The fact the Tories are willing to use Scottish victims of the Royal Mail's Horizon system as a political football is unforgivable.
The PM must change course.
A very happy retirement to the Queen of the High Court of Justiciary - Frances McMenamin KC. A fantastic advocate who always had time to help any colleagues who needed it. We came from the same part of Glasgow and she has always been a credit to it 👏👏👏
Also a little surprising - that having gone to all that trouble - they chose to describe him as a “Scottish Barrister’. Scottish legal twitter ain’t going to like that 😂
Forced his way into the flat of a 50 year old woman, bound her wrists and ankles, put a belt round her neck, stabbed her and waterboarded her - all to her severe injury and to the danger of life - and he was prosecuted in the SHERIFF court (max 5 years) !
I’m puzzled by this. As matters stand there is no prosecution. If there ever was one the trial would be years away. In these circumstances how could it possibly be seriously argued that the (admittedly limp) joke has created a severe / material risk of prejudice?
BREAKING: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been reported to the police over comments he made about Nicola Sturgeon, the former First Minister of Scotland, during his speech at the Conservative Conference.
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube
Fascinating that the SNP has managed to convince some people that ‘drugs policy’ is reserved to Westminster. It’s not - see Sch 5 of the Scotland Act 1998 on . - but it’s a great excuse for failing to address the drugs deaths scandal year on year
And the FM still claims that he leads a ‘progressive govt’. There is absolutely nothing ‘progressive’ about battered women being denied emergency legal remedies because all the lawyers in town have withdrawn from the legal aid scheme. Shameful
The Law Society is to withdraw from discussions on creating a review mechanism for legal aid fees, saying it has ‘lost confidence’ in the
@scotgov
project due to a lack of progress. Read our statement ➡️
Highlight of the tournament - if his first response to winning a major tournament on his 17th birthday is to go and play with his wee brother then he is even more terrific than I thought he was ❤️🇪🇸
I grew up as a child of an unemployed single parent in a multi-storey in the south-west of Glasgow. Which of your three categories do I fall into? Don’t discourage ambitious kids from modest backgrounds with this nonsense
Fiona Bruce: "So,
@JennyGilruth
.
@theSNP
is about to decriminalise the use of drugs. When this was tried in Portland, Oregon, drug deaths rose by 1,500%."
Jenny Gilruth: "Yeah. Mm hm."
Why does the SNP want Scotland's drug addicts to die?
Many years ago I suggested that the Lord Advocate has absolute discretion in this matter - the UK Govt has no say on her prosecutorial decisions. Sadly many SNP politicians have chosen to ‘blame Westminster’ rather than use existing powers to tackle Scotland’s drug deaths crisis
Scotland's chief law officer has said it would not be in the public interest to prosecute users of drug consumption rooms for simple possession offences.
Too many to mention but thanks to all the solicitors who took the time yesterday to respond to my plea for help. Story told in The Times this morning 👏👏👏👏👏
The new law will restrict free speech - but the real censorship in Scotland arises from the knowledge that if you make any public comment critical of the ruling party in Holyrood - you will be subjected to vile personal abuse - so most people understandably choose to keep quiet
His comments came as the force confirmed they would “investigate every report” made when the new law takes effect on April 1, more than three years after its difficult journey through Holyrood.
‘Quisling’ has been my favourite cybernat insult for a couple of years now - but ‘house jock’ has just entered the field! And just for pointing out that poor people are dying through drugs misuse and that
@scotgov
should be improving the situation - not making it worse
Evidence shows that juries in rape trials can be influenced by ‘rape myths’.
A new factsheet explains why this is a reason for introducing a pilot on single judge trials.
Read it at
#VictimsBillScot
I’ve learned more about the drug treatment crisis in West of Scotland following this lady for 2 days - than in 5 years following the phoney war with Westminster 👏👏
For the 18, 060 problem drug users & 132,955 problematic alcohol users in the Greater Glasgow & Clyde area, there are only 23 publicly funded rehab beds.
This means only one person in every 6565 will get the chance to go to rehab.
#OorBill
Absolutely essential viewing for any lawyer or law student with an ambition to ever conduct a criminal trial - featuring as it does - two of the very best trial lawyers I have ever worked with 👇
Murder Trial -The Killing of Brenda Page starts tonight at 10pm
@BBCScotland
and
@BBCiPlayer
24 hours ahead of its
@BBCTwo
debut at 9pm tomorrow.
A 45 year quest for justice.
Pick of the day in every paper
This deserves to be read.
@Annemarieward
speaks the truth on Scotland’s drugs deaths crisis. Don’t believe the
@scotgov
spin. Now more than 3 yrs since the FM admitted ‘we took our eye off the ball’ and they are no nearer getting a handle on it
Dear Minister McKelvie,
@ChristinaSNP
I write this to you from Lisbon, Portugal, where tomorrow I will be delivering a presentation to the International Council of Police Representative associations about the catastrophic humanitarian disaster that is the state of addiction
I accept absolutely that most allegations of sexual assault are true - but not all are - and a jury is absolutely necessary to protect the innocent from the terrible consequences of a wrongful conviction
Please read this carefully - the Justice Minister proposes to - quote - ‘examine the use of juries in rape trials’ - by - eh - suspending the use of juries in rape trials. Words fail me 🤦🏻
Ok one last go. This is the SNP Minister for Drugs Policy. The SNP doesn’t have a Minister for Defence - because Defence is reserved to WM. If ‘Drugs Policy’ was reserved to WM then they wouldn’t need a Minister for it in Holyrood 🤦🏻
Given that the FM has publicly challenged AS to produce the evidence - which AS says he has but is not allowed to produce - surely every lawyer would agree that there is a very strong public interest in it being produced - either to support him or contradict him
Just finished an 8 day High Court trial at Glasgow with the jury at the remote centre at the Odeon Braehead throughout. Ran like clockwork - fantastic work by
@SCTScourtstribs
👏👏👏
🏴 First Minister
@johnswinney
has joined The Tartan Army in Munich before Scotland’s opening match against hosts Germany at
#EURO24
. ‘Mon
@ScotlandNT
!
I’m really struggling to understand this paper. In 2021 the Lord Advocate announced that police officers no longer require to report possession of class A drugs to the PF. Any that are reported are dealt with by diversion from prosecution. Nobody goes to jail for possession
Replying to
@AshleyE1965
- a single bullying sheriff can cause untold anxiety for court practitioners - especially the less experienced ones - I
#PasstheBadge
to
@scotcourtstribs
to consider ways to make the few bad apples aware that their harmful behaviour is unacceptable
The time to draft a single paragraph of a Bill to give justice to the innocent victims of the Post Office scandal has eluded Scottish Govt - but hot of the presses - here’s a detailed 40 page document on ‘Justice in an Independent Scotland’
Dunno what’s less likely - receiving the brief before the accused is even charged - or your Clerk producing a towel from somewhere because you got caught in the rain. Rapidly remembering why I am usually barred from watching legal dramas at home 😂 -
It is extremely concerning that the success of summary trials - where people are tried without juries - for speeding and vandalism and breach of the peace - is offered by the justice secretary as an argument for removing juries in cases where life imprisonment is an option
80 per cent of trials are already in summary courts without juries, Angela Constance and Humza Yousaf argue. But how many of the charges tried in summary courts could lead to a possible life sentence for the accused (as rape does)?
@PriorKc
Well if you could help by spreading the word amongst your English and Welsh colleagues it will help us to fight this authoritarian
@scotgov
- thanks very much
Proud that a fellow member of
@FacultyScot
is one of the few Scottish politicians brave enough to publicly speak out against censorship and in support of freedom of speech. Well done
@joannaccherry
👏👏👏
I’ll be on
@BBCRadioScot
#DriveTime
after 530pm to discuss cancel culture at the
#edinburghfringe
& why I think it’s time our political & cultural leaders took a stand against censorship & unlawful discrimination in Edinburgh, the home of the enlightenment
Best thing to emerge from my 2 articles on the SNP’s proposals to turn Scots justice back 300 years by removing juries? undoubtedly contact from REAL jurors - using words like - demeaning insulting and disrespectful - to describe the comments of the Justice Minister & the ex-FM
The truth is -as we all know - there is not the slightest chance of
@scotgov
addressing the crisis while it only affects solicitors. When the absence of a lawyer starts to affect victims and the judiciary - maybe - but by then it will be too late
Only 8% of criminal solicitors are under 30, and a terrifying 46% are aged 50+. If you let that statistic sink in, you will realise that almost half of the profession will retire in the next 5 to 10 years, with less than 20% of that number coming through to replace them.
This response is utterly astonishing - in short -
@scotgov
will not permit a citizen accused of crime to meet with his / her solicitor of choice for legal advice before a court hearing - where liberty is at stake - unless a condition is met? Did
@KeithBrownSNP
authorise this?
@scotscrimbar
Solicitors who are attending court to take instructions, provide advice and represent client are essential to this process and will be provided with access to our buildings and their clients.
Is it acceptable in a civilised society to tell a 50 year old sadistic serial rapist and murderer that he will not be released until he is in his 80’s? Yes it is - it definitely is
John Swinney wants to pass a law to end the right of trial by jury.
We oppose this latest SNP attack on Scotland's justice system. Here is
@ScotTories
position from the justice committee report 👇
I've now lodged an amendment to remove this from the SNP legislation.
Very sad to wake up to this news this morning. Lord Gill once said that elite pleaders had to be - beholden to no-one, both fearless and courageous - I can think of no better words to describe Derek
We are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of one of our members, Derek Ogg QC, and would like to pass on our condolences to Derek's friends and family at this sad time.
Lawyers deserting legal aid sector, prisoners arriving late for court, more untried in prison that ever, prisoners waiting 2 years for a trial - the lack of a written constitution is NOT the problem
A couple of months ago I predicted that the direction of travel in Scottish criminal justice was such that foreign jurisdictions would eventually decline to send people here for trial. Now it has happened
This is interesting.
Extradition to Scotland refused on 'humanitarian grounds' after Irish High Court judge notes severe prison overcrowding (citing Barlinnie, Low Moss) and perceived 'poor recognition' of neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders.
Removal of the corroboration requirement must be resisted - the idea that a citizen’s life could be blighted forever on the word of a single unsupported witness - when every year COPFS prosecute individuals for making false allegations of serious crime - is truly frightening
The Scottish Government has published an independent analysis of the responses to the public consultation on the not proven verdict and related reforms. The consultation response from Senators of the College of Justice can be read here
Just finished a 7 day trial at Livingston High Court - three paediatricians - a paediatric neurosurgeon - and a consultant neuro radiologist - all taken by WebEx. A couple of minor technical hitches but overall a great success. Well done
@SCTScourtstribs
&
@COPFS
👏👏👏
A welcome statement by the Four Bars. The FM served on the Justice Committee and voted against killing the jury-less trials provision off at Stage One, but it is not too late for the FM to prevent Scotland becoming a pariah in the UK / Irish legal community
The Four Bars (of Scotland, England and Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland) have today issued a Joint Statement on the importance of trial by jury, and expressing the hope that the new FM will appreciate this and ditch the juryless pilot planned for 2028.
Response of an elected
@snp
politician to a legal aid crisis in Scotland that has led to talented & committed lawyers like
@lawisnowblonde
leaving the profession. Only 6 laughing emojies? From a party who’s elected Reps have made plenty use of criminal defence lawyers recently
After
@lilyallen
revealed she returned her adopted dog to the shelter for chewing the families’ passports, PETA is begging the singer not to get another puppy.💔
We’re sending Lily a mechanical toy dog, which requires none of the round-the-clock care a real-life puppy does.
I must admit to being completely bamboozled when my old Auntie from Govan phoned to ask me about my new job - especially as I didn’t know that I had one! I’m sure that the Auditor General is a very nice fellow - but it ain’t me 😂😂
We are honoured to Announce
@GlasgowAdvocate
Thomas Leonard Ross KC has joined our Legal Sub-Committee today at Homeless Project Scotland we look forward to the legal knowledge he will bring to our Charity
Not only was Lord Uist a distinguished Judge for many years - he held very senior positions within Crown Office as a prosecutor. Opposition to this authoritarian proposal is not restricted to ‘defence lawyers’ - the breadth of it is growing day by day
A former High Court judge has denounced plans for rape trials without juries in Scotland as “constitutionally repugnant” and a “serious attack” on the independence of the judiciary.