Edinburgh sheriffs offer Autumn Talk Series
Edinburgh Sheriff Court has announced its Autumn Talk Series for 2023.
Following a successful Spring Talk Series, the sheriffs have decided to provide three presentations aimed at criminal practitioners in particular, to provide an opportunity to learn or refresh court presentation skills.
Taking place within the court at 27 Chambers Street, Edinburgh, from 4.30-5.30pm, each presentation will comprise one or two talks delivered by a sheriff. Designed to cover a wide range of hearings, procedures and skills, rather than questions of substantive law, the aim is to enhance practitioners’ professional skills in oral presentation, and to cover topics such as conduct and presentation within court, persuasive advocacy and best practice.
The talks are:
Thursday 21 September: Asking better questions (Sheriff Auchincloss and Sheriff S Fraser)
This aims to improve skills in examining witnesses, covering how to ask both open and closed questions to build a narrative – including planning your examination, effective cross-examination, effective re-examination, and the sheriff’s perspective.
Thursday 28 September: An Introduction to Summary Criminal Advocacy (Sheriff S McCormack)
This aims to improve skills in appearing in the custody court and trials court in particular, including effective presentation of motions for/against bail, effective presentation of narratives and pleas in mitigation, effective conduct of a summary trial, general advocacy “do’s and don’ts”, and the sheriff’s perspective.
Thursday 5 October: An Introduction to Solemn Criminal Advocacy (Sheriff Stirling and Sheriff Keir)
This aims to improve skills in appearing in the first diets court and in jury trials, covering key rules relating to first diets and the sheriff’s expectations, effective conduct of a jury trial, effective speeches to the jury, and the sheriff’s perspective.
Each presentation will be formatted to enable those attending to claim CPD points. Attendance is free, but registration is required by 12 noon on the day of the presentation. Please register with Margaret McCrimmon at MMcCrimmon@scotcourts.gov.uk