Creative solutions needed to ensure court business continues

Following the update from the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service today, 20 January 2021, that seven sheriff courts are now running jury trials linked to remote jury centres, Debbie Wilson, Convener of the Law Society of Scotland Criminal Law Committee said:

“It is great to see this update on expanding access to jury centres across mainland Scotland. The benefits of using non-court buildings during the pandemic to allow social distancing, is something we recognised early on in the discussions about how to progress criminal court business. This is exactly the kind of creative solution we need to see more of to address the court backlog.

"The vast majority of court business does not involve juries and there are still witnesses, accused and complainers left uncertain about when the cases involving them are to be resolved. We continue to engage positively with our criminal justice partners in discussions to find workable solutions which, importantly, ensure the safety of all court users.”