1. Scottish Criminal Justice
Lecture 5: Scottish Criminal Courts

2. Today’s questions How is the court system structured in Scotland?
What sentencing options do Scottish Courts have?

3. Alternatives to prosecution
Police Report
Procurator
Fiscal
Prosecution
Solemn
Summary
Alternatives to prosecution
High Court
Sheriff and Jury
Sheriff Summary
JP Court

4. Solemn/Summary Solemn Covers the most serious cases
Tried in either the High Court of Justiciary or Sheriff Court
In High Court, before a judge and jury
In Sheriff Court, before a Sheriff and jury
Summary
Covers less serious cases
Tried in either the Sheriff Court or Justice of the Peace Court
In Sheriff Court, before a Sheriff
In JP Court, before a Stipendiary Magistrate, a Justice of the Peace sitting alone or a bench of 3 JPs

5. High Court of Justiciary
Sits as court of first instance (hearing guilty pleas and trials); and as a court of criminal appeal
Has jurisdiction over crimes committed anywhere in Scotland
Presided over by the Lord Justice General, Lord Justice Clerk, and 30 Lord Commissioners of Justiciary
Solemn procedure - judge plus jury of 15
Sentencing powers are unlimited

6. Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
Court of Appeal
Appeal
Accused
Crown on leniency
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

7. Miscarriages of justice
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) established in 1999
Miscarriages can be relating to conviction or sentence
Decides whether 1) a possible miscarriage of justice has occurred; and 2) it is in the interests of justice to refer the case back into the Criminal Justice System.

8. Miscarriages of Justice “The Ice Cream Wars”
"It's been difficult to get here and there is no jubilation, there's no happiness because I feel there are only losers in this case. Everybody has lost. The Doyles have lost their family, we've lost our lives in prison and for 20 years justice has lost. And the people of Scotland have lost the justice system."

9. Solemn
5 years
Unlimited fine
Summary
12 months
£10,000 fine

10. RECAP The accused. The procurator fiscal. The Sheriff.
Who gets to decide whether the Sheriff Court tries under Solemn or Summary Procedure?
The accused.
The procurator fiscal.
The Sheriff.

11. Sheriff Courts

12. The types of cases tried in Sheriff Court include culpable homicide, assault, sexual offences, fatal accident inquiries, breach of the peace, and firearms.

13. Sheriff Appeal Court Criminal court established 2015
Deals with summary criminal proceedings from both the sheriff and justice of the peace courts.
Civil court established 2016

14. Justice of the Peace Courts
Replaced the previous district courts
Generally presided over by Justices of the Peace (not legally qualified), sitting with legally qualified clerk
Sit alone or in threes (known as benches)
Maximum sentence is 60 days and £2,500 fine; they can also impose both mandatory and discretionary disqualifications in road traffic matters (this is new).
In Glasgow, the JP courts are presided over by summary sheriffs previously Stipendiary Magistrates. They are legally qualified, and have the same summary sentencing powers as Sheriffs (12 months imprisonment and £10,000 fine). Deal with offences like drink driving, dangerous driving and assault.

15. Specialist Courts Children’s Hearing System Drug Courts
Youth Courts
Domestic Abuse Courts
Children’s Hearing System

16. Children's Hearing System
Based on the Kilbrandon ethos of welfarism
A panel of 3 lay people from the community.
Children are referred if:
Are beyond the control of parents carers
At risk of moral danger
Been the victim of an offence, including physical injury or sexual abuse
Likely to suffer serious harm to health or development through lack of care
Is misusing drugs, alcohol or solvents
Has committed an offence
Is not attending school regularly without a reasonable excuse
Is subject to an anti social behaviour order and the sheriff requires the case to be referred to a children's hearing panel.
The panel are not there to determine guilt but to find the best solution fo rthe child.

17. Drug Courts
Introduced in October 2001 in Glasgow and in August 2002 in Fife (closed in 2014)
Offer treatment based options outwith the traditional court setting
Drug Treatment and Testing Order (DTTO)
Reduce drug use and drug related offending behaviour
Positive evaluation results

18. Youth Courts Introduced in 2003 in Hamilton and Airdrie.
Objectives
Reduce the frequency and seriousness of re-offending by 16 and 17 year old offenders, particularly persistent offenders (and some 15 year olds who are referred to the court);
Promote the social inclusion, citizenship and personal responsibility of these young offenders while maximising their potential;
Establish fast track procedures for those young persons appearing before the Youth Court;
Enhance community safety, by reducing the harm caused to individual victims of crime and providing respite to those communities which are experiencing high levels of crime.
Introduced in 2003 in Hamilton and Airdrie.
Cost roughly £700,000 a year.
Funding removed in 2015 and youth courts abolished.

19. Domestic Abuse Court
Launched in 2004 and based in Glasgow due to the high incidence of such crimes there
Dedicated team of fiscals and sheriffs who attend this court
Deal with cases quickly, within 6 weeks.
Relieves some of the pressure on the other courts
Multi-Agency approach

20. Types of sentences available

21. Sentences
Monetary
Community
Custodial

22. Monetary sentences
Fines
Compensation orders

23. Community sentences Community payback Drug Treatment and Testing Order
Football banning orders
Restriction of liberty orders

24. Custodial sentences Determinate prison sentence Detention
Life sentence
Order for lifelong restriction
Extended sentence

25. Other sentences Absolute discharge Admonition Caution
Deferred sentence

26. Beyond reasonable doubt
Verdicts
Guilty
Beyond reasonable doubt
Not guilty
Not proven

27. The Not Proven Verdict & Corroboration
Covers only the essential facts of the case
Evidence must come from more than one source
Direct or indirect sources
Confession needs corroboration unless it includes facts only known by perpetrator

28. Changes to Corroboration
Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill
“If satisfied that a fact has been established by evidence in the proceedings, the judge or (as the case may be) the jury is entitled to find the fact proved by the evidence although the evidence is not corroborated”.

29. Next Week
Next week is a reading week and no lectures or seminars will be taking place.