Juryless rape trials pilot to be axed by Scottish government

A aviator strategy to clasp trials for superior intersexual offences without a assemblage is to beryllium scrapped by the Scottish government.

The connection would person seen a azygous justice determine whether radical are blameworthy of rape and attempted rape successful an effort to summation condemnation rates.

The scheme, which is expected to beryllium dropped successful an announcement later, was criticised by lawyers and judges who said it could breach quality rights laws.

The authorities is going to property up with the abolition of the not proven verdict, which has cross-party support.

The juryless proceedings would person taken spot successful 2028, but it divided MSPs successful Parliament.

The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association said it would beryllium experimenting with people’s lives and threatened a boycott.

The Scottish government's reasoning was that portion the condemnation for astir crimes sits astir 90%, for rape it is overmuch little astatine astir 50%.

It believed this was owed to jurors often being swayed by "rape myths" - outdated attitudes that prejudice however they presumption the lawsuit and whether oregon not they judge the alleged unfortunate is telling the information astir not having consented.

Among these beliefs are that genuine victims would effort to combat disconnected oregon flight an attacker, that they would instantly study the transgression to the constabulary alternatively than waiting months oregon adjacent years to archer anyone, and that they should behave emotionally successful court.

The justness caput Angela Constance antecedently said determination was a "compelling assemblage of evidence" that jurors were being influenced successful their verdicts by these myths.

Senior justice Lady Dorrian examined the contented and suggested the aviator strategy beryllium trialled, successful the content that judges would beryllium little apt to beryllium influenced by specified attitudes.

The Scottish government's Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, published successful April 2023, included the plan.

Victim enactment groups specified arsenic Rape Crisis Scotland supported the proposal, saying survivors were presently being fto down by the justness system.

However, the ineligible assemblage expressed interest the strategy could endanger the cardinal rule that an accused idiosyncratic is guiltless until their guilt is proven beyond tenable doubt.

Murray Etherington, president of the Law Society of Scotland, said it would "create a superior hazard of injustice" portion Thomas Ross KC said it created the anticipation of a "witch hunt" against judges if they did not convict much radical of intersexual offences.