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Criminal law [2026] HCJAC 14

Appeal against Sentence by Brandon Stephen McLachlan against His Majesty's Advocate (High Court of Justiciary)

Appeal against Sentence by Brandon Stephen McLachlan against His Majesty's Advocate (High Court of Justiciary) [2026] HCJAC 14 (28 April 2026)

The High Court of Justiciary Appeal Court refused Brandon Stephen McLachlan’s sentence appeal, holding that an 18-year-6-month punishment part for murder was severe but not excessive.

  • Sentencing
  • Murder
  • Punishment part
  • Young offenders
  • Bail aggravation
  • Punishment-part
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Criminal law [2025] HCJAC 47

Appeal against Sentence by Mark Keel against His Majesty's Advocate (High Court of Justiciary)

Appeal against Sentence by Mark Keel against His Majesty's Advocate (High Court of Justiciary) [2025] HCJAC 47 (22 October 2025)

The Appeal Court upheld a life sentence for murder with a 22-year punishment part, rejecting claims that the sentence and guilty-plea discount were excessive.

  • Murder
  • Sentencing
  • Domestic abuse aggravation
  • Discount for guilty plea
  • Criminal-law
  • Guilty-plea-discount
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Criminal law [2025] HCJAC 36

Appeal against Sentence by John Farquhar against HMA (High Court of Justiciary)

Appeal against Sentence by John Farquhar against HMA (High Court of Justiciary) [2025] HCJAC 36 (01 August 2025)

The High Court of Justiciary refused an appeal against a 22-year punishment part for murder and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

  • Murder
  • Attempting to defeat the ends of justice
  • Sentencing
  • Bail aggravation
  • Murder-sentencing
  • Appeal-against-sentence
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Criminal law [2025] HCJAC 16

Appeal against Sentence by RH against HMA (High Court of Justiciary)

Appeal against Sentence by RH against HMA (High Court of Justiciary) [2025] HCJAC 16 (19 March 2025)

The Appeal Court reduced a 16-year-old murderer’s punishment part from 18 to 14 years, holding that age, exploitation and rehabilitation were underweighted.

  • Sentencing
  • Murder
  • Mitigation
  • Young offenders
  • Punishment part
  • Modern slavery
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Criminal law [2025] HCJAC 14

Crown Appeal against Sentence by HMA against Christopher David Brown (High Court of Justiciary)

Crown Appeal against Sentence by HMA against Christopher David Brown (High Court of Justiciary) [2025] HCJAC 14 (07 March 2025)

The Appeal Court increased a murder punishment part from 13 to 17 years, holding that the original sentence was unduly lenient given repeated violence and prior offending.

  • Sentencing
  • Murder
  • Punishment part
  • Unduly lenient sentence
  • Aggravating and mitigating factors
  • Criminal-sentencing
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Criminal law [2025] HCJAC 6

Notes of Appeal against Conviction and Sentence by Andrew Kelly & Donna Baird against HMA (High Court of Justiciary)

Notes of Appeal against Conviction and Sentence by Andrew Kelly & Donna Baird against HMA (High Court of Justiciary) [2025] HCJAC 6 (15 January 2025)

The Appeal Court upheld murder convictions and sentence, holding there was sufficient evidence of a planned violent attack and art and part participation by both appellants.

  • Murder
  • Art and part liability
  • Concert
  • Evidence
  • Sentencing
  • Art-and-part-liability
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Criminal law [2024] HCJAC 50

Appeal against Sentence by Colin Kennedy against HMA (High Court of Justiciary)

Appeal against Sentence by Colin Kennedy against HMA (High Court of Justiciary) [2024] HCJAC 50 (17 December 2024)

The High Court of Justiciary reduced Colin Kennedy’s punishment part for murder from 25 years to 23 years after finding the original term excessive.

  • Murder
  • Sentencing
  • Domestic violence
  • Partner abuse aggravation
  • Murder-sentencing
  • Life-sentencing
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Criminal law [2024] HCJ 4

Examination of the Facts in HMA against Michael Porchetta (High Court of Justiciary)

Examination of the Facts in HMA against Michael Porchetta (High Court of Justiciary) [2024] HCJ 4 (29 November 2024)

The High Court of Justiciary held that Michael Porchetta was unfit to plead but, at an examination of facts, found beyond reasonable doubt that he committed murder, theft, and an attempt to defeat justice.

  • Unfitness to plead
  • Murder
  • Theft
  • Attempt to defeat justice
  • Forensic dna evidence
  • Blood pattern analysis
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Criminal law [2024] HCJAC 44

Notes of Appeal against Conviction by Maria Elena Gardiner and Michael Anderson against HMA (High Court of Justiciary)

Notes of Appeal against Conviction by Maria Elena Gardiner and Michael Anderson against HMA (High Court of Justiciary) [2024] HCJAC 44 (29 October 2024)

The court held that in a concerted lethal attack, all participants were guilty of murder if serious injury was objectively foreseeable; differing murder and culpable homicide verdicts were not competent.

  • Murder
  • Culpable homicide
  • Law of concert
  • Art and part guilt
  • Sentencing
  • Law-of-concert
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Criminal law [2024] ScotHC HCJAC_28

APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE BY DANIEL HAIG

APPEAL AGAINST SENTENCE BY DANIEL HAIG [2024] ScotHC HCJAC_28 (10 July 2024)

The High Court reduced the punishment part of a life sentence for a young murderer and quashed the extra year for related offences, stressing rehabilitation and youth.

  • Sentencing of young offenders
  • Murder
  • Assault
  • Knife crime
  • Rehabilitation in sentencing
  • Sentencing-young-offenders
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About this LexChat collection

Scotland decisions are organised by court, judge, legal area and indexed issue so a practitioner can move from a proposition to a citable authority with the surrounding context intact.

Source links and collection timestamps are retained alongside the indexed records.