The case of Carol Olwyn Kirk to return to High Court over Miscarriage of Justice

A case arising from a discrepancy between the applicant and her neighbour concerning an altercation that occurred due to their dogs, will return to the High Court of Justiciary after a possible miscarriage of justice.

Coined an ‘exceptional occurrence’ by Scottish Legal News, the 2015 trial will return to High Court of Justiciary due to an issue surrounding a recording of the events in question. Initially, the Crown alleged that the applicant assaulted the complainer multiple times causing injury. Upon consideration, The Justice of the Peace deemed the first strike unintentional, however, the following strikes were intended.

Problems have arisen concerning two recordings of the event. One includes repeated cries from the complainer, yet the commission received a recording in which the cries were absent. The presence of screaming within the recording was fundamental to the Justice’s decision to convict. Thus the existence of a recording without screaming demonstrates there may have been a miscarriage of justice.

A miscarriage of justice constitutes a wrongful conviction and can lead to the punishment of a person for crimes they did not commit. In regards to this case, the applicant may be innocent of any assault against the complainer.

After hearing the appeal in August 2017, there was no agreement found as to which version of the recording should take provenance, therefore the court refused the appeal. The commission will now refer the case to court for a second time.

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