Scot: Lawyer boycott of juryless rape trials 'to be unanimous'

Exactly.

But so much easier to try and manipulate the outcomes than properly resoucing the inputs.

Not sure why anyone in Scotland would report a rape when we know the system thinks acceptable punishment is a few hours litter picking. I'd probably start with changing that before fannying about with the actual trials. Bit like removing a splinter from one eye when there's a gigantic fucking plank in the other one.

Are there any figures on where the failures are occurring? Obviously a tiny percentage of rapists are convicted - are rapes not being reported, or police not doing their job, or the fiscal not doing their job?

Juries convict 75% of rape defendants (2021 figures) - way higher than the conviction rates for most violent crimes.

Juries aren’t the problem - the failure to investigate and charge effectively is the issue.

I have issues with removing the jury generally, but in this specific case I would be quite concerned that any convictions secured under this pilot would be quashed or re-tried once the pilot has ended. I want to know what happens to those trials conducted without a jury if jury-less trials are found to be unjust or not robust enough.

I don't think it's fair to the victims to put them through that uncertainty, having to go through a retrial or worse having their attacker released, and if it was my case going to court I wouldn't want this.

''Criminal defence lawyers across Scotland will not allow their clients to become guinea pigs in a scheme where the starting point of the scheme is to engineer verdicts to bring about more convictions," Mr Woodward-Nutt said.''

IMO rape myths engineer not guilty verdicts.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65523962