High Court of Justiciary

The **High Court of Justiciary** is the most powerful criminal court in Scotland.  It can hear a case that has been appealed (where one of the people involved think a case has been decided wrongly), or if it is a serious case it can be the first court to hear it.  When hearing a case that has been appealed, it is sometimes called the **Court of Criminal Appeal**.

It has 36 judges, who are called _Lord Commissioners of Justiciary_.  They are also judges for the Court of Session.  The chief judge is called the _Lord Justice General_, and is also always the chief judge for the Court of Session, where he is called the _Lord President_.  His deputy is called the _Lord Justice Clerk_.

When it is the first court to hear a case, it can sit in a number of locations.  Its permanent locations are in Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, but it also sits in other towns and cities.  When it hears a case appealed, it can only sit in Edinburgh.

### Judges

Judges in the High Court are called _Lord Commissioners of Justiciary_.  There are 36 judges in total.  They are all also judges for the Court of Session.

The chief judge is called the _Lord Justice General_, and is also always the chief judge for the Court of Session, where he is called the _Lord President_.  His deputy is called the _Lord Justice Cler_k_._

When the High Court is the first court to hear a case, there will only be one judge.  They will make any decisions involving the law in the case, and will make sure everything happens properly and fairly.

When the High Courts hears a case on appeal, there will be three judges.  They will examine the conduct of the case and decide whether to overrule it or not.

### Jury

When the High Court is the first court to hear a case, it will sit with a _jury_.  This is called a _trial_.

The jury is a group of 15 randomly chosen people, who aren't qualified in law.  They decide the facts of a case, and decide whether the person accused of a crime is guilty or not.

They can reach three conclusions, called _verdicts_:

- Guilty - this means they are sure that the accused committed the crime the prosecution said they have
- Not guilty - this means they are not sure
- Not proven - this also means they are not sure
They can reach a verdict with a simple majority, 8/15, or more.

### Parties

There are two groups of people in the court, called _parties_.

#### Defence (the accused)

The _accused_ is the party that is in court because they have been charged with a crime.  This means that a government body, normally the police, think they have committed a crime.

The accused never has to prove its case, but it can defend itself in court.  To do this, they have to hire a lawyer called a solicitor.  The solicitor will help prepare their defence, but normally is not allowed to speak in the High Court - instead, the solicitor has to instruct a specialist lawyer called an advocate, who is trained to represent people in court.

The accused and their lawyers are often referred together as the **defence**.

#### Prosecution (the Crown)

The _prosecution_ is the party that has to prove the guilt of the accused beyond a reasonable doubt.  This means that they have to persuade the jury that the accused definitely committed a crime enough that they are certain.

The prosecution represents the people of Scotland, and in particular the King.  Because of this, they are sometimes called the **Crown**.  The official prosecutor for Scotland is called the Lord Advocate, but they will only attend court in really important cases.  Most of the time, one of their deputies, called an Advocate depute, will attend instead.  They are also a lawyer, normally an advocate, just like the accused's lawyer.

It is possible in theory for a private citizen to prosecute someone, but this is very rare.

### How trials work

A High Court case starts at the point of charging, which is where the police officially accuses someone of a crime, after consulting the local prosecutor (called a Procurator fiscal).  They will then spend time investigating, in order to prepare an _indictment_.

#### Indictment

The prosecution will prepare an official list of all the crimes they believe the accused has committed, in very specific detail.  This is called an indictment.  The process of presenting an indictment is called _libel_ or _libelling_.

#### First diet

This is the first hearing of the case, and the first chance for someone to plead guilty or not guilty.  It may be held in the High Court itself or in a Sheriff Court - its main purpose is to arrange a trial date.

#### Intermediate diet

This is the main hearing before the trial begins.  The accused can change their plea here, and the parties will raise any important issues before the trial.

#### Trial

The trial is where a jury will decide the guilt of the accused.

It will begin by _swearing in_ the jury, which is where they promise to act properly and fairly.  The judge will then introduce the accused, as well as any key witnesses, so that any jurors that have a personal connection to anyone involved can be excused.

After that, the judge will give the jury a number of directions about how they must listen to evidence and decide the case.

Unlike some other legal systems, there are no opening speeches given by the parties.  Instead, after all this has happened, they will begin hearing evidence.  The prosecution will present their evidence first, and the defence (if they choose to) will present theirs afterwards.

Once all the evidence is heard, the parties will make closing speeches to summarise their arguments.  The judge will then sum up the evidence and make any directions to the jury about it.  They will then ask the jury to retire to a private room, where they will decide their verdict.

Once they have decided, the jury foreman will present the jury's verdict to the court.  The jury never has to justify its verdict.  This marks the end of the trial.

#### Sentencing Committals

Sometimes, a Sheriff Court might ask the High Court to sentence someone for them.  This is because Sheriff Courts can only sentence someone to 5 years in prison, but their cases sometimes need more than that.  When this happens, it is called a _sentencing committal_.

## Infobox (high court)

- **court name**: High Court of Justiciary
- **image**: Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (Government in Scotland).svg
- **country**: Scotland
- **positions**: 36
- **chiefjudgetitle**: Lord Justice General (chief judge)
- **chiefjudgename**: Lord Carloway
- **caption**: The coat of arms of the King, which is used in the High Court
- **website**: [https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/the-courts/supreme-courts/about-the-court-of-session/high-court/about-the-high-court www.scotcourts.gov.uk]