Commission seeks views on Crown right of appeal
31 Mar 08
SLC consultation asks if and when Crown might appeal against rulings dismissing a solemn case
The Scottish Law Commission is seeking views on whether or not the Crown should be allowed to appeal against judicial rulings which bring trials to an end without a jury verdict, in a discussion paper published today.
The three types of rulings that can bring solemn proceedings to an end without a jury verdict are:
- no case to answer, where the judge rules at the close of Crown evidence that the evidence led by the prosecution is insufficient in law to justify the accused being convicted;
- a direction by the judge to the jury that the jury should not convict on a particular charge because of insufficient evidence;
- where an important item of prosecution evidence is deemed inadmissible, leaving the Crown no option but to abandon the prosecution.
As well as asking whether the Crown should be allowed the right of appeal, the Commission asks at which stage of a trial the right to appeal would be exercisable and what the result of a successful appeal should be.
The paper is the first stage of work on the remit given to the Commission by the Scottish Government in November 2007. The Commission aims to report on double jeopardy in 2009 and issues raised relating to the law of evidence in 2010 or 2011.
The deadline for responses is 13 May 2008. More information can be found on the commission's website www.scotlawcom.gov.uk .