Final rollout announced of remote sheriff jury centres

A timetable for the remaining sheriff courts to begin operating through the remote jury system has been issued by Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service.

Seven sheriff courts are now operating in this way: Edinburgh, Glasgow, Ayr, Paisley, Kilmarnock, Hamilton and Airdrie Sheriff Courts are now linked to remote jury centres based at Odeon cinemas in Edinburgh, Glasgow Quay, Ayr, Braehead and East Kilbride.

On 25 January, Dundee Sheriff Court will restart solemn trials linked to the remote jury centre at the Odeon Cinema. Next month, jury trials will get underway in Inverness on 8 February, linked to the remote jury centre at the Eden Court complex. Aberdeen Sheriff Court and Aberdeen High Court will recommence jury trials on 15 February linked to the remote jury centre at the Vue cinema complex.

Also in February, courts at Falkirk, Kirkcaldy and Perth will restart jury trials linked to jury centres at Dunfermline and Dundee Odeons. Finally, Greenock and Dumbarton will restart jury trials linking to the remote jury centre in the Odeon Braehead.

David Fraser, executive director – court operations at SCTS, said: "We recognise the concern and impact on the accused, victims and witnesses of any further delay in jury trials. The remote jury centres were designed to operate during COVID, ensuring jury trials can continue while restrictions are in place.

"The jury centres are large ventilated spaces, with physical distancing for jurors at all times and are fully equipped with all the necessary precautions of face coverings, handwashing facilities and sanitisers. 

"While we know that there are concerns at this time, we have strictly followed Public Health Scotland’s guidance to make these new centres as safe as possible. Having juries remote from courts enables physically distanced trials to proceed with the same health, safety and security measures available to all court users." 

However criticism continues of the transfer of cases from Dumfries and Stranraer Sheriff Courts to Ayr, due to the claimed additional risk of spreading the virus.

Welcoming the announcement, Debbie Wilson, convener of the Law Society of Scotland's Criminal Law Committee commented: "It is great to see this update on expanding access to jury centres across mainland Scotland. The benefit 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."