Jury trial (Scotland)

Trial by jury in Scotland is used in the courts of Scotland in solemn procedure for trial on indictment before a judge and jury of fifteen for serious criminal cases, and in certain civil cases (mainly personal injury claims.) In criminal trials conviction is on the basis of a majority verdict, with eight jurors required to decide that the accused is guilty; should fewer than eight jurors declare a guilty verdict then the accused is acquitted. Thus, a hung jury is an impossibility in Scottish criminal law, but in civil trials a hung jury is possible. Some people were executed on majority verdicts in Scotland, such as Susan Newell, who had one juror dissenting.

Criminal procedure in Scotland is generally regulated by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 (as amended) and various Acts of Adjournal passed by the High Court of Justiciary. Under Scots law a jury in a criminal trial must have at least fifteen jurors for a case to continue, and at least eight jurors must declare guilt into order to convict. The jury has a choice of three verdicts: guilty (a conviction), not guilty (acquittal) and not proven (also acquittal).

The pool of potential jurors is chosen purely at random, and Scottish courts have set themselves against any form of jury vetting.

During World War II the Administration of Justice (Emergency Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1939 provided that both civil and criminal juries would have seven members, of whom two would be special members, except for trials for treason or murder, or where a case in the High Court of Justiciary required the regular jury of fifteen on the "gravity of matters in issue".

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