Sturgeon’s plan for rape cases compared to Nazi jury trial ban

NICOLA STURGEON’S plan to scrap jury trials for rape cases would see Scotland follow in the footsteps of the Nazis, the country’s senior female lawyer has warned.

Frances Mcmenamin KC, the most senior woman at the Scottish Bar, said she had grave concerns over proposals that would see judges decide guilt in rape allegations and other serious sexual crimes.

A Scottish government consultation has raised the prospect of abolishing juries for serious sexual offences such as rape and attempted rape, which have a far lower conviction rate than other offences. Dorothy Bain, the Lord Advocate, has backed the idea of a pilot, claiming “radical” action was needed to help clear a backlog of cases which she said was “disproportionately” harming women and girls.

However, Ms Mcmenamin said removing “democratic participation” would affect “the rights of every citizen in Scotland”.

Ms Mcmenamin, a member of an expert Scottish government group on the management of sexual offences, speaking to The Sunday Post, added that a move away from trial by jury would invite comparisons with repressive regimes.

“China’s new national security law, aimed at suppressing Hong Kong’s democracy movement, is abolishing trial by jury,” she said. “Even worse, Scotland should not risk further comparison with Hitler who, in 1933, in response to his dissatisfaction at the Reichstag fire trial, in which all but one of the accused were acquitted, abolished trial by jury and set up the people’s court. This was a special court set up outside the operations of the constitutional frame of law, whose president almost always sided with the prosecution and in which there was no presumption of innocence.”

The conviction rate for all crimes is close to 90 per cent in Scotland, but falls to less than half for rape and attempted rape. Campaigners claim judge-only trials would lead to more attackers being brought to justice.

However, the Law Society of Scotland said the introduction of judge-only trials for serious sex crimes would have “no discernible benefits” and could see individual judges come under public pressure to find defendants guilty.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government wants to strengthen the rights and improve the experiences of people involved in the justice system, especially women and children.”

‘Scotland should not risk comparison with Hitler who abolished trial by jury and presumption of innocence’