Next stage of vulnerable accused persons project

The Criminal Law Committee is looking for examples from you to inform a follow-up project to its April 2019 report on the vulnerable accused person.

The committee would like to hear from you about examples of good practice, as well as cases where late identification of vulnerabilities or the practicalities of providing support mechanisms in court led to inconsistencies in the way they were approached.

To contribute your examples, simply email Gillian Mawdsley, Secretary of the Criminal Law Committee at gillianmawdsley@lawscot.org.uk or Debbie Wilson, Committee Convener at debbie@wilsondefence.com

What we are doing

Following on from the April 2019 report the Committee is now seeking to review the existing legislation and practices in Scotland in relation to the vulnerable accused person. The aim is to produce a new report which is fully up-to-date and relevant for practitioners in making out any case for reform.

How you can help

The committee is looking for examples from both perspectives, defence and Crown, which highlight the issues that arise in cases involving vulnerable accused persons. The more examples or information that you provide, the more it will identify the practices and concerns which will help frame the report.
All information received will be considered in confidence, but it would be helpful for examples to include:

• how the situation arose;
• what was done, and by whom;
• when the situation occurred (to ensure the report is up-to-date examples from the past 12 months are preferred);
• the court or sheriffdom it occurred in.

For more information

The final report is expected to be published in Spring 2020. If you would like more information about the project or how the committee will use the information provided, please contact Gillian or Debbie.