Bill Justice

Humza Yousaf has defended plans to pilot juryless rape trials after lawyers in Aberdeen joined a boycott.

They have accused the Scottish Government of a " deeply troubling attack" on the judicial system.

Lawyers in Glasgow and Edinburgh have already said they will refuse to take part in The Pilot , which was proposed as part of a New Justice reform bill.

The government has said there is " overwhelming evidence" juries are affected by preconceptions about rape.

The Change to trials was proposed by Scotland's second most senior judge, Lady Dorrian, in a review that informed The Victims , Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has claimed that low conviction rates for rape and attempted rape are hampered by the " prevalence of preconceptions".

In The Most recent figures, conviction rates for rape and attempted rape were 51%, compared with 91% for all other crimes.

After the Aberdeen Bar Association confirmed it was joining the boycott, Mr Yousaf said he heard their objections " loud and clear".

But He Said he remained " absolutely committed" to working with legal professionals on The Pilot because convictions for rape are " far too low" compared to other offences.

The First Minister said: " We know through The Weight of evidence that exists just how many rape myths, rape misconceptions, stereotypes exist.

" That's not in the interest of justice.

" We're talking about a time-limited pilot and I hope that legal professionals that have said they'll boycott will work With Us and reconsider that boycott. "

The SNP leader said More Than 80% of trials already took place without a jury.

Statistics for 2019-20 show 16% of criminal cases were heard by a jury, while 84% were less serious, or summary, cases which were dealt with by a justice of The Peace or a sheriff.

Aberdeen Bar Association Vice President Ian Woodward-Nutt told Bbc Scotland it was " very hard to see how this will proceed" without lawyers agreeing to participate in The Pilot .

" Criminal defence lawyers across Scotland will not allow their clients to become guinea pigs in a scheme where the Starting Point of the scheme is to engineer verdicts to bring about more convictions, " Mr Woodward-Nutt said.

He took issue with proposals for public reviews of decisions made by trial judges taking part in the scheme.

The lawyer said: " Never before have decisions at the Scottish criminal courts been subjected to this type of review by the executive.

" So it's clear and it will be clear to any impartial observer that this proposed pilot amounts to a deeply troubling attack, both on the Criminal Justice system, but also on the independence of our judiciary. "

Mr Woodward-Nutt argued juryless trials would lead to a loss of safeguards.

" The Scottish Government are proposing an experimental scheme that replaces juries with a specific named trial judge who will, we feel inevitably, be subjected to public scrutiny and thus pressure relative to his or her decision making, " He Said .

" That cannot be fair, that cannot be appropriate. "

Source of news: bbc.com