The EBA is aware that the Public Defence Solicitors Office have withdrawn from the custody duty scheme in Edinburgh due to staffing issues.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

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.

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🙈

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 heraldscotland.com/news/2380…

👇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.

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

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 bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-6…

RT @COPFS: Statement from Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC on drug consumption facilities: copfs.gov.uk/about-copfs/new…

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

It's 45 years since the best ever account of an attempted crime. From the Edinburgh Evening News, 18 August 1978.

We are hiring!

The last custody at ESC went through at 9pm yesterday. This is becoming the norm. This crisis is one of many consequences of decades of underinvestment in our justice system #justiceonthecheap

This has been so long in coming that it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. The fact that the Governor himself is calling it out is, however, significant (and brave). bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-g…

The system of transfer of custodies from police stations and prisons across the country has completely broken down. Trials delayed, cell staff put at risk and courts sitting well the into the evening. Geoamey are unable to fulfil the contract. Urgent change is needed

Very important day in the Criminal Appeal Court - where the Lord Advocate will argue that the complainer’s observed distress can - when taken with the complainer’s account of the sexual activity - provide sufficient evidence of the crime. Huge resource implications for courts

Paterson Bell Edinburgh are looking to recruit a trainee for criminal defence and criminal appeals. The trainee would be based in Edinburgh but would also work in Fife when needed. Please go to our website and send your CV to our appeals unit. Driving licence essential.