The Scottish government has abandoned a pilot scheme to test trials for serious sexual offences without a jury. The proposal was intended to increase conviction rates for rape and attempted rape by allowing a single judge to decide guilt. The scheme was criticised by lawyers and judges, who argued it could violate human rights laws. Justice Secretary Angela Constance confirmed that there was not enough cross-party support for the plan.
Despite the decision not to pursue the juryless trial plan, the government intends to abolish the ‘not proven’ verdict with cross-party support. The trial would have been held in 2028, but it divided members of Parliament. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association described the U-turn as “humiliating”.
The conviction rate for rape is about 50%, compared to around 90% for most crimes. The Scottish government believes low conviction rates are due to jurors being influenced by “rape myths” – outdated attitudes that prejudice their views of the case. These myths include that genuine victims would immediately report the crime, fight off attackers and behave emotionally in court. Lady Dorrian suggested that judges would be less influenced by such beliefs, leading to the proposal for the juryless trial.
Victim support groups such as Rape Crisis Scotland backed the proposal, arguing that current justice systems were letting down rape survivors. The chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, Sandy Brindley, expressed disappointment with the decision. She said that juries should decide based on the evidence presented, rather than rape myths.
The legal community was concerned that the scheme would compromise the fundamental principle that an accused person is innocent until their guilt is proven beyond doubt. The legislation also included proposals to reduce Scottish juries’ size from 15 members to 12, with a majority of 8 for a guilty verdict. The Crown Office prosecution argued that this would make convictions more challenging. The Scottish government now plans to keep juries at 15 but raise the majority for a guilty verdict to ten
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