Edinburgh Bar Assoc.

Official Twitter account of the Edinburgh Bar Association. Providing information and a forum for discussion to our friends and members.

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

The EBA is aware that the Public Defence Solicitors Office have withdrawn from the custody duty scheme in Edinburgh due to staffing issues. Duty allocation was redistributed to the PDSO without agreement and yet now these changes have been forced upon private firms who are simply expected to offer capacity. The EBA calls for a fairer and more realistic allocation of the duty scheme towards private firms who are able to provide the public better value on a sustainable basis. @scotgov @ScotGovJustice

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

It is not surprising when consistent cuts in funding to major drug partnerships and addiction services continue. In Edinburgh a Drug Treatment and Testing Order which was an option to the Court as an alternative to custody is no longer available and has not been since June 2023.

[BBC Scotland News @BBCScotlandNews]

Official figures suggest that Scotland remains the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row despite a fall in fatalities
https://t.co/SNJ1mB9mG7

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@GlasgowAdvocate Drug Treatment and Testing orders have not been available as a sentencing option in Edinburgh and the Lothians since 2023. They are now incorporated into a CPO by adding a drug treatment requirement which does not provide any clinical aspect.

[Aamer Anwar✊🏾🏳️‍🌈#BlackLivesMatter @AamerAnwar]

Out of touch, ill-advised -the idea that 1 judge, all white, mostly male, middle/upper class is best placed to decide guilt over the combined wisdom of a diverse group of 15 men & women is fundamentally flawed- You are decimating our justice system already on its knees🙈

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@Stiubhart_Mor @BBCScotlandNews Those trials are for ‘less serious’ offences where the maximum sentence available to the court is 12 months imprisonment and there is a presumption against a prison sentence. We try all offences at solemn level before a jury

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

This should signal the end of this misguided policy. The fact that Judges who would be presiding over the pilot court can’t unite behind it demonstrates how flawed the proposal is ⁦@ScotGovFM⁩ ⁦@AConstance23⁩ ⁦@SP_Justice⁩ https://t.co/pRHwXJvGqV

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@RoddyQC Successive governments have ignored the warnings. There is an ongoing exodus of solicitors who are abandoning legal aid work at the same time that record numbers of Sheriffs, ADs and PFs are recruited from those who remain. Yet still they do nothing.

[Jamie Greene @jamiegreeneUK]

👇exactly this. I’ve been beating the drum about a sore lack of solicitors across huge swathes of the country for years. It doesn’t just affect the accused, it also affects the victims caught up in case backlogs.

[Thomas Leonard Ross KC @GlasgowAdvocate]

Lord Carloway is correct - but @scotgov has been repeatedly warned for years that the lack of funding would lead to a mass exodus from the defence bar - now it is too late to reverse it - and any number of ‘victim centred’ bills isn’t going to get victims to court any quicker

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

An acknowledgment by Scotland’s most senior judge that there aren’t enough defence solicitors to reduce the huge backlog of rape cases. This is a direct consequence of decades of underinvestment in legal aid https://t.co/cvlSZWArNi

[COPFS @COPFS]

Statement from Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC on drug consumption facilities: https://t.co/uOFIww2Puw

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@BBCCatrionaR None of this is acknowledged in your article. The defence have a legitimate and important role to play in ensuring that the right to a fair trial is protected

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@BBCCatrionaR The role of defence lawyers is to respectfully challenge the account of complainers in such cases. The questions we can ask are strictly controlled. The prosecutor can object to any unfair question. The Judge is the referee and can prevent questioning which is inappropriate

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

A new low at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tonight where the last custody called at 9:52pm. Only one custody court as GeoAmey couldn’t staff a second. Solicitors, PFs, the Sheriff, Clerks and court staff back to work in less than 12 hours @scottishprisons @scotgov @SCTScourtstribs

[Anna Mazzola - Updates only. @Anna_Mazz]

It's 45 years since the best ever account of an attempted crime.

From the Edinburgh Evening News, 18 August 1978.

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@EmmaLL03 Of course. Feel free to DM

[Lisa Rae & Co @LisaRaeCo]

We are hiring!

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@GlasgowAdvocate @ScotsLegalAid I don’t think that sentiment would be universally shared by Scottish solicitors.

[Edinburgh Bar Assoc. @EdinBarAssoc]

@BarristerSecret I’m sorry to report that the situation in Scotland is not much better.