Further Issue
In recent months an additional issue has come to light. As a result of work on the current Independent Review of Sheriff and Jury Procedure, Sheriff Principal Bowen has highlighted that the largest courts in Scotland are hampered in their use of jurors by the current legislation. Existing legislation results in jurors on any given list of assize only being cited to one court sitting alone. In the bigger courts, notably Glasgow Sheriff Court, there can be more than one sitting at a time. The law as it stands means that, where a court has more than one sitting in tandem, the clerk cannot simply reallocate available jurors between the lists, if there is an insufficient number of jurors in one sitting. The Government will take forward the necessary legislative change as early as practicable to improve the use of court time and reduce inconvenience to jurors and ultimately victims and witnesses, by ensuring that potential jurors may be re-allocated among lists as required.