Scotland

Cases

Appeal dismissedSep 3, 2026

Defence held to the stated purpose of its section 275 application: rape appeal refused with no miscarriage of justice

Scotland's appeal court held that excluding a message and alleged jokes caused no miscarriage of justice. The defence had sought that evidence only to explain a remark the appellant made in his own call to the emergency services, and his own trial evidence gave a different explanation for it.

Nairn Sharp v His Majesty's Advocate, [2026] HCJAC 41 · Scotland · Trial judge error

Appeal dismissedJul 15, 2026

Appeal fails: paediatrician's evidence caused no miscarriage of justice and the judge's medical summary was balanced

The High Court of Justiciary refused an appeal against a conviction for attempting to murder a baby. It held that the expert's evidence did not go beyond her expertise in any way that caused a miscarriage of justice, that the prosecutor was entitled to rely on the appellant's delayed and shifting accounts, and that the trial judge's review of complex medical evidence was fair.

AA v His Majesty's Advocate, [2026] HCJAC 31 · Scotland · Flawed forensic science, Trial judge error

Decisions the desk read

All decisions

Scotland · Oct 15, 2026Appeal against Conviction by Paul McCann against His Majesty's Advocate Disclosure Actual innocence
Scotland · Oct 7, 2026Appeal Against Conviction by WX against His Majesty’s Advocate Jury issues Actual innocence Forensic evidence
Scotland · Sep 25, 2026Reference under section 123(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by His Majesty’s Advocate against PK Forensic evidence Identification Sufficiency of evidence
Scotland · Sep 23, 2026Appeal against Conviction by Nairn Sharp against His Majesty’s AdvocateBrief Actual innocence
Scotland · Sep 10, 2026Appeal against Conviction and Sentence by CS against His Majesty’s Advocate Actual innocence
Scotland · Aug 21, 2026Crown Appeal under section 74(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by His Majesty's Advocate against Michael Neil New evidence
Scotland · Aug 5, 2026Appeal following a reference from the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission by James Gibson against His Majesty's Advocate Actual innocence New evidence Forensic evidence
Scotland · Aug 4, 2026Appeal against Conviction by AA against His Majesty’s AdvocateBrief Forensic evidence Jury issues Actual innocence

Tagged by software and not analysed. A tag says nothing about the result.

On the wire

OpinionSCT · Oct 15, 2026
Appeal against Conviction by Paul McCann against His Majesty's Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Oct 9, 2026
Appeal against Sentence by Henry Laverty against His Majesty's Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Oct 7, 2026
Appeal Against Conviction by WX against His Majesty’s Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Sep 25, 2026
Reference under section 123(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by His Majesty’s Advocate against PK Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Sep 23, 2026
Appeal against Conviction by Nairn Sharp against His Majesty’s AdvocateScottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Sep 10, 2026
Appeal against Conviction and Sentence by CS against His Majesty’s Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Aug 5, 2026
Appeal following a reference from the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission by James Gibson against His Majesty's Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Aug 4, 2026
Appeal against Conviction by AA against His Majesty’s AdvocateScottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Jul 31, 2026
Appeal under section 194ZB(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by Michael Stachan against Procurator Fiscal, Edinburgh Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Jul 31, 2026
Appeal under section 194ZB(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by Michael Stachan against His Majesty's Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Jul 24, 2026
Appeal against Conviction by Jamie Neller against His Majesty’s Advocate Scottish Courts
OpinionSCT · Jul 10, 2026
Appeal against Conviction and Sentence by XY against His Majesty's Advocate Scottish Courts

Where to turn

Appeal courts

Legal aid

Scottish Legal Aid Board Fresh application needed for an appeal; the court has no power to grant it. See Late appeals: Some SLAB guidance pages are old: confirm before relying on them.

Review after appeals

Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission

Time to appeal

Solemn (indictment): written intimation of intention to appeal within two weeks of the final determination of the proceedings (Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 s 109(1)); then a written note of appeal within eight weeks of lodging intimation (s 110(1)). Periods may be extended at any time by the High Court (s 111(2)). Summary: application for a stated case within one week of the final determination (s 176(1)(a)).

Check this against the rule, and with a lawyer: read the source

Rules of appeal

What we watch here

Scottish CCRC news and updates
Scottish Courts: High Court of Justiciary judgments RSS