IMPARTIALITY IS THE OVERRIDING REQUIREMENT
Jurors given strict guidance by trial judge Lady Dorrian
ALEX Salmond arrived early at the High Court in Edinburgh for a trial which will be followed closely across the country in the coming weeks.
Clad in a dark overcoat, tartan scarf and blue tie, he gave a tight smile to onlookers in the city’s Lawnmarket.
Going inside at about 8.20am, the ex-first minister waited in a private room where he could consult with his legal team.
Prospective jurors began to assemble in the building, each with the chance to serve on one of Scotland’s most historic legal cases.
A special press room had been set aside yards from the first-floor courtroom, with more than 60 reporters on hand to cover events. Gathering in court three at about 11.30am, the chosen jurors’ numbers were fished out of a glass bowl.in their allotted By just before noon, the nine women and six men selected were seats and ready to begin hearing the evidence.
The charges were read out against Salmond, taking a number of minutes to complete.
Salmond’s lawyer Gordon Jackson QC lodged special defences of consent to four of the charges and a further special defence of alibi for another.
In her remarks to the jury, judge Lady Dorrian, told the 15 citizens they should consider withdrawing if they had very strong positive or negative views about Salmond that would prevent them rendering an impartial verdict.
She said the accused is a “very well-known figure” and they should decide the case on the evidence heard in court and “nothing else”.
She added: “The overriding requirement that you must satisfy is that of impartiality.
“If you think that there is any
If there is any reason you cannot be impartial, inform the clerk
LADY DORRIAN ADVISING JURY
reason that you cannot be impartial, you must inform the clerk.
“You cannot allow yourselves to be swayed by sympathy or prejudice.”
The judge also asked them to consider whether they knew any of the witnesses due to give evidence, which might prevent them from continuing on the jury. A 15-minute adjournment was called to allow the jurors to get themselves ready. During the break, Salmond remained in the dock, sometimes passing a comment with the two whiteshirted security officers flanking him.
When the jurors returned to court, none of their number had given reasons they couldn’t serve and the rest of the jury pool was dismissed.
A screen had been erected for the first witness, Woman H, to give her evidence without being able to see Salmond.
She took to the witness box at 12.45pm, taking the first of the questions from prosecutor Alex Prentice QC.
The trial was adjourned 15 minutes later for lunch, returning at 2pm with Woman H still on the stand.
For the next two hours, she described the events of May and June 2014 in detail, giving her detailed accounts of two alleged sex attacks.
At 4pm, about a hundred photographers, TV camera operators and onlookers had gathered behind metal barriers erected outside the court’s entrance.
When Salmond emerged, he offered the same tight smile as he left and the first day of his trial drew to a close.