police organization and protocol

[bryan maycock]

That's pretty much how I read it as I collated the events that led to the arrest.

Thanks again for your interest and help.

[Falkyrn]

Re Search Warrant - if it was signed by a "Justice" ie a JP or magistrate it is limited to the area in which they were appointed. A Sheriff can issue a warrant which is country wide. A Sheriffs warrant is obtained under oath after convincing the Sheriff that you have a good enough case with strong evidence it would not be issued as a general fishing expedition to go looking for your evidence.

Re "Not Proven" verdict ...... this was once the equivalent of Not Guilty as Scots Law had only Proven or Not Proven as verdicts. Somewhere along the line Scots Law adopted the more anglified Guilty or Not Guilty but for some unknown reason the Not Proven verdict was retained and as stated has become to mean basically "good try but you haven't done enough to convince us".

Just as an aside Jury trials in Scotland are only for the more serious crimes and sit in only two Criminal Courts with the procedure under Solemn Jurisdiction.
1. With a Sheriff
2. The High Court

A Scottish Jury also has 15 members and can return a majority verdict rather than a unanimous one.

[bryan maycock]

Again, many thanks for continuing to flesh out the story for me.

Was the 15 - I assume 15 MAN jury at the time, extant in 1880? It's an interesting addition to the story for me.

And, if unanimity was not a requisite, returning a verdict of Not Proven could mean 8 Not Proven and 7 Guilty? (or 7 Not guilty)? I assume that, unlike US juries, the jury would not have been polled so there would be no way to know that nature of the split.

Of course, I also realise that it could have been a unanimous Not Proven.

Regardless, it is all very interesting.

[Falkyrn]

The Jury in 1880 would have consisted of 15 men.

I have seen cases where the majority was as low as 8 - 7 but that's relatively rare and unlike some other jurisdictions the discussions and opinions formed by the Jury are secret. A jury in a Criminal trial at that time did not have to leave the Box as they were entitiled to return their verdict immediately although if they wished time to consider their decision this was always granted. (In Civil cases the Jury were sequestered for a minimum 3 hrs before being able to return a majority verdict)

The role of the Not Proven verdict is a strange one, as I said before it originally meant that the Crown had failed to prove their case but with the use of Guilty or Not Guilty the role of the Not Proven verdict should have disappeared but for some strange reason it survived and came to be "a third way" for trial verdicts - sometimes frustratingly so

[bryan maycock]

In this case, the report was that the jury did retire and took just twenty minutes to reach the verdict of Not Proven. So it doesn't sound as if there was much rancour in the jury room. Given the system, I assume that as soon as a simple majority is achieved, the verdict is delivered. Even with 15 men in the room, that should make for speedier processing. Perhaps that is why I cannot think of single nail biting, Scottish courtroom drama that results in a verdict of Not Proven. That said, Not Proven generates its own special kind of drama in that it seems to imply a measure of guilt. In this instance, the prisoner high tailed it to London soon after the trial (Aug 26/7) and never went back.

He appeared in the 1881 (April 3) census in London as working in a "Foreign Bank, Scotland'. This may still have been with a London branch of the Bank of Scotland as technically, perhaps legally, they had no reason to fire him. But it could also have been with one of the other Scottish banks. The census doesn't provide such detail.

So, once again, thanks for filling some more blanks and helping me understand the process.

Bryan

[Elwyn 1]

. Perhaps that is why I cannot think of single nail biting, Scottish courtroom drama that results in a verdict of Not Proven.
Bryan

You should read the case of Madeleine Smith in Glasgow in 1857. She was accused of murdering her secret lover with arsenic, but was found not proven. The case had a bit of glamour, Glasgow high society, illicit sex and some ill advised love letters. It kept people on the edge of their seats for weeks. Although she was proven to have bought the arsenic, and had no persuasive reason for doing so, opinion remains divided today as to whether she really did murder him.

[Malcolm]

"Can somebody offer anecdotal or sourced information on how police forces operated at the time?"

This might be a bit late but I'm picking up on the court case venue rather than who came from where.
It's normal to this day for trials involving serious crimes to be conducted at a place distant from where the offence took place so as to help ensure a fair hearing.
In its day, this would have been a very serious offence and may be the reason so as to avoid any prejudicial judgement by the Jury.
It's just a thought.

M

[Falkyrn]

"Can somebody offer anecdotal or sourced information on how police forces operated at the time?"

This might be a bit late but I'm picking up on the court case venue rather than who came from where.
It's normal to this day for trials involving serious crimes to be conducted at a place distant from where the offence took place so as to help ensure a fair hearing.
In its day, this would have been a very serious offence and may be the reason so as to avoid any prejudicial judgement by the Jury.
It's just a thought.

M

There have been a number of changes in Court Procedures over the years but at that time given the seriousness of the crime only two courts in Scotland would have held the trial. The lowest of these would have been a Sheriff & Jury Trial and the location of the trial would have been dictated by the Sheriffdom in which it occurred. The other Court which could have held the trial was the High Court which around that time was a "Circuit" court in that it went on a circuit of the different locations and trials were held regardless of where they occurred. For example crime occurs in Glasgow & next High Court is sitting in Perth - everything moves to Perth.