Letter bomb trial : Prosecutors concerned alleged ‘Facebook spat between lawyers’ may be seen as ‘attempt to undermine accused legal representation’

Neil Lennon, Trish Godman & ‘top QC Paul McBride were targets of viable letter bombs. SERIOUS CONCERNS have been privately expressed by Crown Office insiders regarding an alleged FACEBOOK spat reported in national newspapers involving two advocates from the MacKinnon Advocates stable, one a high profile 'Top' QC, Paul McBride, and the other, Victoria J Young who narrowly escaped a criminal prosecution for stalking. Both advocates are involved (Mr McBride as a victim, Ms Young representing the accused) in the trial due to take place next week at the High Court in Glasgow of two men accused of plotting to murder Mr McBride QC, Celtic boss Neil Lennon and ex-MSP Trish Godman by means of sending “Viable” parcel bombs to the Celtic manager and the two high-profile fans of the Glasgow club.

Reports that a Faculty of Advocates investigation into allegations one of the advocates representing the accused in the trial, Victoria J Young who narrowly escaped a criminal prosecution for stalking after being charged by Strathclyde Police had “slagged off” one of the alleged victims of the letter bomb murder plot "top” QC Paul McBride, via the social network website FACEBOOK have so far been DENIED by senior figures from the FoA, however it now transpires insiders at Scotland’s prosecution service have expressed concern the spat between the two QCs, one a victim and the other, representing one of the accused, “may well have damaged or undermined the accused’ legal representation” leading to concerns over the progress of trial, due next week..

Speaking in the earlier report a Faculty insider who wished to remain anonymous said there was concern the allegations may have “an alternative agenda” however the insider did not wish to elaborate further.

It is now generally accepted Scotland has a significant sectarian problem which has grown so bad, the Lord Advocate authorised Crown Office to destroy its statistics on hate crimes against Catholics in case the predominantly EU found out, as reported HERE

BBC News reported on the parcel bombs incident : The first suspect package was intercepted by the Royal Mail in Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire, on 26 March and was addressed to Mr Lennon at Celtic's training ground in nearby Lennoxtown. Two days later a device was delivered to Labour politician Ms Godman's constituency office in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire. Her staff were suspicious of the package and contacted Strathclyde Police. The third package was addressed to Mr McBride at the Faculty of Advocates in Edinburgh. It is believed to have been posted in Ayrshire before being found in a letter box by a postal worker on Friday and taken to a Royal Mail sorting office in Kilwinning, where police were contacted.

Commenting on the incident, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Let us be quite clear - there is a major police investigation under way to ensure that the individual or individuals concerned are identified and apprehended, and then brought to book with the full force of the law. We will not tolerate this sort of criminality in Scotland, and as an indication of the seriousness with which we view these developments the Cabinet sub-committee met last Saturday to ensure that the police investigation has every possible support to come to a successful conclusion."

Top QC Paul McBride calls for jury reform, declarations of jurors interests after Neil Lennon assault trial fiasco

Jurors must face interviews, declarations of interest says QC Paul McBride  PROPOSALS put forward by top QC Paul McBride in the wake of the not proven verdict in the case of a Hearts fan who was cleared of assaulting Celtic manager Neil Lennon would see jurors being required to declare their interests, face interviews and sit tests before being selected for jury service.

The ideas put forward by the well respected QC have been broadly welcomed by legal insiders who view the proposals as a significant improvement on the current jury system which has little in the way of transparency and has been accused by some of being stacked by prosecutors who prefer desirable outcomes for Crown Office statistics spin

Paul McBride QC interviewed on jury declarations & outcome of Lennon assault case

The Herald reports :

Top QC calls for jury reform

Caroline Wilson
Monday 24 October 2011

JURORS should be made to sit tests before being selected for trials in order to improve the judicial system and bring Scotland into line with other countries, according to a leading QC.

Paul McBride said potential jurors should be interviewed to establish they can “read, write and speak English” and are not “riven with prejudice”.

The only requirement to serve on a jury in Scotland is that a person should be over the age of 18, be registered to vote and have lived in the UK for five years.

Mr McBride believes potential jurors should be forced to disclose their occupation and whether they have been a victim of crime. He said Scotland’s jury system, in which 15 people can reach a decision on a majority of 8-7, made reform even more important.

His intervention follows a jury’s not proven verdict in the case of Hearts fan John Wilson, who was cleared of assaulting Celtic manager Neil Lennon during a match earlier this year. Wilson was accused of a sectarian attack on Lennon, but he was acquitted.

The verdict came despite Wilson admitting in court he had lunged at the Celtic manager and struck him.

Mr McBride said: “The question is, ‘can we improve our jury system?’ and the answer is undoubtedly yes.

“This is an area that lawyers have been discussing for some time. Judges and lawyers undergo a high standard of training. The only area where there is no scrutiny at all on the people who actually make the decision, which is baffling.

“You don’t have to be able to read or write or speak English.

“We have got 15 people deciding whether a person is guilty and we know nothing about them.

“In Scotland, unlike any other country on the planet, a person can be convicted by one vote. Following the Lennon verdict a lot of people, and newspapers were asking about the selection process for juries.

“In every other country there is some kind of jury selection process to determine whether they have got the basic skills and whether they have committed a crime. A lot of trials are conducted by police statements. If a member of the jury can’t read or speak English that’s a bit of a disadvantage.”

During the Tommy Sheridan perjury trial a female juror was threatened with legal action after revealing confidential details of the case on Facebook.

The woman posted information about how jurors voted. It is a criminal offence to reveal a jury’s deliberations.

Mr McBride said: “In America they follow the voir dire system where jurors can be questioned by a judge to determine if they might struggle to be impartial.They might not tell the truth but we should ask the question.

“It is supposed to be a jury of peers but you tend to find that most are unemployed or retired because employed people often get out of jury duty. It is not a jury of peers.

“We were told after the Lennon case, that you must respect the jury’s verdict. Why do we have to respect the verdict by the jury? If a judge makes a controversial decision he is open to criticism on the front pages of a newspaper.”

Mr McBride said both Scottish Labour and the Conservatives had voiced their support for a shake-up of the justice system.

Earlier this year, Elish Angiolini, the former Lord Advocate, called for opening and closing speeches to be introduced to help guide jurors through cases.

She raised concerns over the ability of people who were more used to communication through Facebook to sit through hours of detailed evidence.