Nicola Sturgeon’s sheer brass neck never fails to amaze. A politician whose party is under police investigation, and whose husband has recently been arrested, is hardly best placed to start talking about scrapping juries in criminal trials. It’s a bit like Boris Johnson, at the height of partygate, speculating about the breaking up of the Metropolitan Police.
Sturgeon’s first venture into policy advice since her resignation came in a column in the Guardian supporting First Minister Humza Yousaf’s proposed Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. This bill, which she sponsored before she resigned in February, calls for a trial of judge-only specialist courts for sexual offences.
The right to trial by jury has been the cornerstone of the Scottish justice system for centuries and the bill has been bitterly opposed by the legal profession. Over 500 solicitors from bar associations across Scotland have threatened to boycott the experiment on the grounds that it is based on the premise that rape victims are not
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