Scottish Government scraps pilot for juryless rape trials

The Scottish Government has scrapped the plan to pilot juryless trials for serious sexual offences.

Under the proposal, it would be down to the judge alone to decide whether or not an accused was guilty of rape or attempted rape.

The initiative was brought forward in a bid to address low conviction rates for sexual offences, but opponents said it may breach the human rights of those accused of such crimes. 

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said there was not enough parliamentary support for the measure.

Six SNP MSPs rebelled against the government by abstaining in a vote on the matter earlier this year, including now-deputy first minister Kate Forbes, with opposition also from the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

The change is part of proposed amendments to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform Bill, which includes steps to remove Scotland’s ‘not proven’ verdict and to increase the current simple majority required for a criminal conviction to a two-thirds majority of jurors. 

However, plans to cut the jury size from 15 to 12 will be dropped following feedback from the Criminal Justice Committee.

The Scottish Government said further research into jury deliberations, including how rape myths may affect verdicts, is now planned.

Constance said: "This Bill proposes a significant package of reforms to ensure victims are placed at the heart of Scotland’s justice system, such as creating a specialist Sexual Offences Court, establishing a Victims & Witnesses Commissioner and abolishing the ‘not proven’ verdict.

"I want to build as much consensus as possible for this important legislation. Clearly there is not enough parliamentary support at this time for the proposal to enable a time-limited pilot of single-judge trials for cases of rape and attempted rape, so we will no longer pursue this.

"I remain concerned by the substantial evidence that juries may be influenced by rape myths and I will introduce amendments to the bill to allow for more detailed research into jury deliberations. We will undertake further work with justice partners to agree how to challenge and reduce the impact of rape myths. This might include, for example, further interventions or educational resources for jurors and the wider public.

"I believe that the most prudent approach to jury reform, including the abolition of the ‘not proven’ verdict, is to seek support for a model with two verdicts – 'guilty' and ‘not guilty’ – 15 jurors, and a two-thirds majority requirement for conviction.

"I look forward to working with partners and colleagues across parliament to deliver what I believe is a shared ambition to ensure victims and witnesses are placed at the heart of the justice system and treated with compassion."

The news comes after Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said that the 1400 rape allegations recorded by Police Scotland in the six months to September was "the tip of the iceberg".

The number marks a 19.5 per cent increase on the same period in the previous year.

At First Minister's Questions, Labour MSP Pauline McNeill said violence against women is "endemic" and said the length of time taken for a trial to come to court is distressing for victims.

Giving assurances that the government will not seek any further extension of court time limits, First Minister John Swinney said "we all know that sexual crime is under-reported". He told the chamber: "Those who perpetuate sexual violence and abuse, the majority of whom are men, must be held to account and it is only through fundamental societal change in the behaviors and attitudes of men that women can be protected."

This week it was claimed that a ruling by senior judges which will allow comments made by victims shortly after an incident will help to bring more cases to court.

The judgment follows a referral by Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain and means such comments can be used as corroboration about the identity of a perpetrator.

Swinney said the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform Bill "commits to having a trauma-informed justice system that puts victims and witnesses at its heart". He went on: "We want to make sure that anyone who's been a victim of essential crime to have confidence in our justice system."