Government drops plan to pilot juryless rape trials

Ministers have dropped plans for juryless rape trials to be piloted in Scotland after failing to secure cross-party support.

Under the proposed pilot, a single judge, or possibly a panel, would have provided a verdict in certain rape cases rather than a jury.

Part of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, it met with strong opposition from the legal profession, including the Law Society.

They argued trial by jury for serious crimes is a “basic right” and should not be undermined.

However one of Scotland’s most senior judges, Lady Dorrian, said such a pilot would provide valuable evidence.

The underlying reason behind the idea was the prevalence of “rape myths” among jurors.

Previous first minister Humza Yousaf said his government was “absolutely committed to a pilot”.

The Bill passed its stage one vote in the Scottish Parliament in April, but almost half of MSPs abstained on the legislation – including some SNP members.

In a written answer by Justice Secretary Angela Constance published on Thursday, she said: “I have already made clear my willingness to amend the provisions that enable a time-limited pilot of single judge rape trials.

“I recognise, however, that there is not enough cross-party support at this time for such a pilot, irrespective of the model.

“In the interests of building as much consensus as possible, I will no longer pursue this policy and bring forward relevant amendments to remove it from the Bill.

“I remain committed to exploring the impact of rape myths and improving access to justice for rape victims.

“As part of this work, I will bring forward amendments to allow for research to be carried out into jury deliberations, which is currently heavily restricted by the Contempt of Court Act 1981.”

Other measures in the Bill, including the removal of the not proven verdict, will go ahead.

In line with the Justice Committee’s recommendations, proposals to cut the size of juries from 15 to 12 will be dropped.