Edinburgh MiniTrials 2017

The Edinburgh MiniTrials 2017 took place on Saturday 7 October 2017.
This was the 15th consecutive annual event in Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
The schools participating this year were:

• Forrester High School
• Holy Rood High School
• James Gillespie's HS
• The Royal High School
• Portobello High School
• Balerno High School
• St Thomas of Aquins RC HS and
• Craigmount High School.

They were all brilliant.  Well done to all those involved and to all those who assisted.  Special thanks to Richard Hart of Trinity Academy for organising the event and liaising with the teachers and supporters.

To see the starter pack of materials for the Edinburgh MiniTrials 2017 Click here.

Thanks to the Scottish Sentencing Council and others we now have NEW MiniTrial sentencing materials relating to the adjourned diet for sentence in the case of  HMA v Wade.

Click here to see the sentencing exercise.

Click here to go to the Scottish Sentencing Council website for more information on sentencing.

The Forth Valley MiniTrials 2017

Good luck to all those involved in the forthcoming "Forth Valley MiniTrials" due to take place in :

   Falkirk      on    22 September;

   Alloa          on     1 November; and

   Stirling      on     3 November.

All these events have been organised by John MacFarlane of the Crown Office Strategy Development Team and are supported by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Police Scotland, local bar associations, social work departments and G4S.  

An update will follow.

New SCTS video on jury service

The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service has produced a video showing different stages of  the jury experience.
Watch it HERE

Stirling Sheriff Court hosts Primary School MiniTrial

Well done to everyone involved. 😊

Thanks to www.advocates.org.uk for this article dated 26 June 2017:

"PRIMARY pupils who took over Stirling Sheriff Court to stage a Faculty MiniTrial were clear in their verdict  –  “super duper mega fun!”  

The youngsters, from St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School, Dunblane, acted out a trial before “Sheriff” Laura Thomson, Advocate, who had helped them prepare for their day in court and was impressed by the budding legal talent.  “The MiniTrial was a huge success – I was so proud of the kids, they worked so hard and delivered a fantastic performance.  After the trial, they were taken on a tour of the cells and I think that was the highlight for them!” she said.  “I am grateful to the Sheriff Clerk at Stirling for hosting our MiniTrial – being able to conduct the trial in a real courtroom was a fantastic opportunity for the children.”  

Asked for their impressions, the pupils reported that it had been “a brilliant night” and that they wanted “to say a big thank-you to Ms Thomson for organising it all and coming in to work with us.  ”Theo declared: "It was super duper mega fun!"   Logan had “loved the experience", while for Sam, it was “one of the best times of my life!”  Millie said she had been “inspired to possibly become a lawyer”, and Julie and Madeleine learned that “there are holding cells downstairs in a courthouse” and “there is a Clerk of Court”.  

MiniTrials for schools were the idea of Lord Kinclaven (Sandy Wylie, QC) who wanted to demystify the law in an enjoyable way and give youngsters the chance to learn what really happens in a Scottish court, as opposed to what they might see on television or read in books.

The project was launched in 2002 and thousands of pupils throughout Scotland have taken part, often in real courtrooms in their local sheriff court."