Remote jury centres coming to each sheriffdom
Remote jury centres are to be extended to sheriff and jury trials, to tackle the backlog of cases caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
High Court trials began this week using Odeon cinemas in Edinburgh to accommodate the jury in order to preserve social distancing requirements, and will shortly resume also in Glasgow. Now the Scottish Government has provided a further £6.5m to enable further remote jury centres to deliver capacity for 18 jury trial courts to operate, following £5.5m for High Court jury centres and £3m for court technology.
Jury centre venues for each of the six sheriffdoms are currently being sourced across Scotland, with centres for Lothian & Borders, and Glasgow & Strathkelvin expected to be in place by December. Other sheriffdoms will follow in early 2021.
The project will also provide the capacity for High Court sittings to take place in Aberdeen and Inverness.
The move, endorsed by Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian’s Restarting Solemn Trials Working Group, will replicate the High Court approach in sheriff courts across the country.
A cross-justice group, led by Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull and involving the legal profession and third sector, will focus on the practical differences in hearing sheriff court jury trials in order to restart them quickly and effectively.
Lady Dorrian commented: "The innovative approach to remote jury centres in the High Court is now up and running, and the next stage is to plan the rollout of this approach to sheriff court jury trials. This is an excellent collaborative effort across the justice sector which will increase court capacity in an environment that is safe for all participants."
Kate Wallace, chief executive of Victim Support Scotland, responded: "We welcome any move to reinvigorate trials that have been delayed as a result of COVID-19. The real life and negative impact that delays to trials have to people impacted by crime, cannot be underestimated.
"Earlier this year, Victim Support Scotland reported a staggering 400% increase in the number of people using our services expressing feeling suicidal, due in part to delays in trials going ahead. We have had huge concerns, alongside our partners, that the needs of victims have been neglected throughout the pandemic.
"While today’s announcement is to be welcomed, the justice sector must not rest in its laurels. There is still a mountain to climb for the justice sector to get back on its feet, with the reduction of the backlog just being one step in the right direction."