Further plans to recommence Sheriff Court jury trials across Scotland have been announced with arrangements for remote jury centres to be created in ODEON cinema complexes in Ayr, East Kilbride, Dundee and Dunfermline. Contractual arrangements for jury venues in Aberdeen and Inverness are currently being progressed.
These centres are in addition to two remote jury centres already identified in Edinburgh and Glasgow where Sheriff Court jury trials are programmed to get underway next week.
Kilmarnock Sheriff Court will recommence trials from 11 January 2021. Jurors will be based at the ODEON cinema in Ayr.
Plans are also in place allow trials to recommence at Ayr Sheriff Court from 11 January 2021. Jurors will be also be based at the ODEON cinema in Ayr.
Sheriff Court Jury trials will operate from nominated courts in each of the six Sheriffdoms with juries located in a remote jury centre managed by SCTS. Sheriffs Principal are also making arrangements to transfer business in the respective Sheriffdoms to the nominated courts detailed above. Details of any transfers will be published by court order and can be found on the SCTS website.
The restart of Sheriff and Jury Trials is overseen by a working group chaired by Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull and involving a range of practitioners in the justice system.
David Fraser, SCTS Chief Operations Officer said:
“The commencement of trials in Edinburgh and Glasgow next week sees the restart of Sheriff Court jury trials. There has been exceptional progress to secure remote jury centre venues required and we intend to move as quickly as possible to the pre-Covid number of sheriff court jury trials proceeding in Scotland.”