SNP abandons controversial plan for non-jury rape trials

The Scottish Solicitors’ Bar Association (SSBA) said the decline in non-jury trials represented a “humiliating U-turn” for the Scottish Government and was “extremely proud of our efforts to defeat this dangerous proposal”.

The announcement was also welcomed by the Law Society of Scotland and the College of Solicitors, who said “citizens’ juries are a cornerstone of democracy”.

However, the Law Society expressed concern about a separate ruling that relaxed verification rules in sexual assault cases, noting that “many people who were previously deemed not to have sufficient evidence can now be prosecuted”.

SNP ministers have expressed concern about low conviction rates in rape cases, saying jurors are so-called “rape mythsIt led to the unfair acquittal of some defendants.

This term refers to stereotypes in rape cases; for example, jurors incorrectly assume that the victim “asked for it” by being drunk or seductive.

The bill would give ministers the power to allow single-judge rape and attempted rape trials to be conducted without a jury “for a limited period of time” on a pilot basis.

However, judges and lawyers strongly opposed the plan, arguing that it undermined the right to a fair trial. The SSBA warned that 97 percent of defense lawyers would boycott the pilot.