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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:09 pm
Time: 9:09 pm
Results for criminal courts (scotland)
1 results foundAuthor: Bowen, Edward F. (Sheriff Principal) Title: The Independent Review of Sheriff and Jury Procedure Summary: The report presents the final report of an independent review of the procedures for sheriff and jury criminal court cases in Scotland. The main recommendations are: To only cite witnesses to give evidence in a case once it is known the case will proceed to trial - this will result in significant savings, both in reducing inconvenience to witnesses and in the cost of citing witnesses; To introduce a 'new compulsory business meeting' to bring together the Crown and defence to discuss cases at an early stage of proceedings- this will result in parties being better prepared for court appearances and produce a higher number of pleas of guilty at an early stage in proceedings; To enhance the current statutory provisions and require the Crown and defence at First Diet to be able to inform the court about their preparation of the case and allow the court to resolve any issues to be addressed at that stage- this will mean that First Diets should work as intended as a clearing house for cases going to trial; To allow a longer period between the indictment of the case and the first diet - this will allow for outstanding issues to be resolved before First Diet, thereby minimising the need for continued First Diets; To accommodate these procedural changes, it is proposed that the statutory time limits for commencing trials in sheriff and jury cases be extended for custody cases to 140 days, this is in line with the High Court time limit. The report also proposes that legal aid provision for sheriff and jury cases should be reviewed so that it supports early resolution of cases, as it does in the High Court and in summary justice. Alongside the recommendations for changes to procedure, the report also makes a number of practical recommendations. These include considering wider use of TV links between courts and prisons, greater use of standby arrangements for witnesses, continuity of sheriffs involved in individual cases and sheriffs taking a more rigorous approach to the issue of persons not attending for jury duty without excuse. Details: Edinburgh: The Independent Review of Sheriff and Jury Procedure, 2010. 145p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 29, 2010 at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/10093251/17 Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/10093251/17 Shelf Number: 120309 Keywords: Criminal Courts (Scotland)JuriesSheriffs |