The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has re-appointed existing Board members Sheriff Kenneth Ross, Elaine Rosie and Susan McPhee to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB). Their first terms of appointment ended on March 31, 2008.

Labels: News, Scottish Government

Petition by Bill Alexander calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to reform the legal system to adopt the Scandinavian system of allowing unrestricted access to legal representation before the court for example by allowing non-lawyers to appear in court on behalf of other parties.

Labels: Scottish Parliament

The Best Stun Gun blog (no, really) reports that a man has been fined in Edinburgh Sheriff Court for importing an illegal stun gun.

South African Vernon White (73), by all accounts was visiting some friends in the Veldt. They decided that returning to Leith would be too risky for him without some kind of protection and gave him the weapon for his own self-defence. However, it was discovered by officials on his return to the UK when ... he told them he had it.

Sheriff Reith issued a modest fine.

Labels: Edinburgh, News

Nicola Sturgeon MSP, the Health Secretary, has been reported as saying she was "not persuaded" that assisted suicide should be made legal, after independent MSP Margo MacDonald said she hoped to bring legislation on the subject before Holyrood next year.

Ms. Sturgeon (with whom I once worked) said that she was not sure safeguards could be put in place to prevent the system from being abused. However, she is quite comfortable (as I understand it) to see organs harvested from those who haven't got round to "opting out" (i.e. declaring officially that you'd like to hang onto your organs after you're dead).

Labels: Law and Ethics, News, Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament