Fiance falsely convicted

[Turtle]

Hi guys, I'm absolutely devastated and dont really know where else to turn to. I was wondering if anyone had any advice or even just a listening ear in regards to our situation. For the last two years we have been fighting false allegations made by two former foster children.
We thought we had a strong case as both of the girls stories were wildly inconsistent and one of the girls accusation was only even heard in the court because my fiance's mother reported her making it to her despite him not being in the room at the time. It was thoroughly investigated at the time and the social work were happy nothing had happened.
Well he was convicted of both charges yesterday and of coarse we are going to appeal it but wanted to know if anyone had any advice.
I think we have grounds on the way our lawyer handled the case for example not putting me on the witness list despite being present during one of the alleged events.
He has also said we can appeal but have to wait till after sentencing. This happens at the end of next month which puts us over the 28 day deadline mentioned on the government website. We're up in Scotland so if any one can confirm this applies that would be great as my brain is truly frazzled right now and any research I'm attempting is just not worth while tbh.

Thanks so much

[AmandaF]

Hi and welcome, although it's always a sad day when people find us. We were in the same situation- the day of sentence the "Notice of intention to appeal" was submitted. It isn't the same in England so the 28 days doesn't apply.
I'm not sure how long you have from the notice being submitted though but from what I've seen on here an appeal can still be lodged outwith the time scale.
Do you mind me asking which court and solicitor you used? WE are changing ours as the first one , we believe , screwed up. However that doesn't constitute grounds for an appeal in itself.
I wish you all the very best- Scot's law is a nightmare!!

Keep posting- there are folk on here with a wealth of advice and you will find lots of support in what's a truly awful situation

[WhyUs]

Welcome to the forum, and sorry to hear your news.

My husband and are waiting for our court case to commence in the summer, so I have no real advice, but can be here for support, when needed.

[AmandaF]

Just to say as well- we've all trawled the internet , googled stuff etc etc and be warned- it can get demoralizing as it's hard to understand and apply it if you don't know much about the law / injustice system.
My partner's trial was held in Scotland and trying to find information about the process north of the border is very very difficult. As I said the initial 28 days from conviction doesn't seem to apply.
We were told that if your lawyer had information that he knew about but didn't use it can't be classed as new evidence. It's a minefield but hopefully you can find a lawyer who knows what they're doing!!
I am currently trying to find a competent one to review our case(s) although I was acquitted at trial.
We were told that so so much of our defence could not be used as it would require calling "expert witnesses". I really don't understand that.

Keep posting, keep checking back. We're all in it together here!!

[Rights Fighter]

There is a link with references to Scots law on here.

In England the same applies, and appeal should be lodged within 28 days of conviction (although some people are wrongly advised that an application to appeal the conviction follows sentence, if not sentenced straight away). However, providing there is a good reason for not apply to appeal within the 28 days then you can apply to appeal "out of time".

What does the Advocate say about the prospects of appealing the conviction? If they say there are no Grounds, that does not mean that it correct.

You can instruct fresh solicitors, if you believe something went wrong at trial that would have affected the verdict, or if you find fresh evidence that goes to the heart of the convictions that you had no idea about prior to the trial, and can prove you had no idea it existed.

[AmandaF]

RF- when I questioned this, that's the answer I got, that you lodge a notice of appeal and then they try and find grounds for it, which then becomes a notice of grounds. The initial notice couldn't be given till after sentence.
Dunno- as I said it just seems as tho they make it up as they go along!!
Or is there a reason why we aren't given correct information??

[Rights Fighter]

In England you can't lodge and appeal without grounds. To do otherwise does not make sense.

I don't know how they do it in Scot's law. Hopefully there is some info on the thread CH started about that.

[Turtle]

Sorry for only just now getting back to everyone. The story has appeared online and as you can imagine we've been running around making sure all of our friends and families got thier information from us and not an inaccurate and sensationalist report.

AmandaF, I'm not sure on the name of the solicitor firm (I'll check with the fiance) but they are based in Glasgow and our lawyers name was Mark if that helps.

Rights Fighter, can I ask where the link is? I am probably being blind and it's right in front of my face. The lawyer has been abit cagey when we asked if we had grounds or not, saying yes then no then yes again. We're phoning again on Monday and hopefully we get a straight answer then.

WhyUs, I'm so sorry you're in the same position as us and hopefully your trial goes better with a fair result.

Hopefully after more digging and speaking to a different legal team we will know better where we stand and how to proceed. Scots law is so confusing!
Just trying to come to terms with the fact I know he is innocent isnt enough to appeal has been tough and how one sided the whole legal system is in cases like this has completely shaken my faith in lawyers, the police, the social work and the jury system (it took 20 minutes for them to ruin our lives and none of them could look either of us in the eye!)
Its nice to finally have some where to turn to even if its only for a rant

[Rights Fighter]

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...9-Scottish-Law

[AmandaF]

Turtle you are echoing my feelings exactly.
I am currently trying to decide who to contact to review the case to see whether we have grounds. I think he messed up royally but it seems everybody just closes ranks.

It's a very good place on here to rant!!! And get some support as well.

Has your fiance been remanded??

[Turtle]

Hi again, with work, all this and endless research I have completely forgotten about this thread!
I thought I'd let everyone know that I managed to find out from the Scottish government website that a notice to appeal must be submitted up to two weeks after sentencing (which doesn't need to have grounds for appeal stated) and then eight weeks for the note of appeal which must state detailed grounds for appeal.
Heres a link to the info which will hopefully be of use to anyone else going through the confusing Scottish courts: http://www.gov.scot/About/Review/Car...ealsProcedures

We have our pre sentence report interview coming up soon and I wondered if anyone had any advice on what to wear/what questions they will ask? The lawyer said not to bring up our appeal as he thinks we will get a harsher sentence from the judge but to be honest at this stage if the man told me the sky was blue I'd have to look out the window to check!

In regards to the appeal we have uncovered a document which seriously throws one of the girls reliability in to question this coupled with a few other things should hopefully give us good grounds to appeal so things are looking better. Our lawyer has again been very evasive when we asked him about appealing so we've decided if he still hasn't consulted with the rest of his team and given us a proper answer by Friday we're going to get a new lawyer to look over our case.

AmandaF: He hasn't been remanded, thank god! Have you managed to find anyone to review your case yet?

[Rights Fighter]

I wondered if you would put the very helpful information you have posted relating to Scots law, in the Scots thread too please? Just so that it doesn't get lost under all the posts and other threads.

http://www.daftmoo.org.uk/mooforum/s...9-Scottish-Law

Maybe start a new thread so it stands out on its own? Thanks

[AmandaF]

No not yet- trying to get a definitive answer to particular question from his lawyer which we can get a second opinion on that point alone. It's something we believe wouldn't have been allowed in English law.
Have all but given up hope now.
Who is the interview with? If it's with the SS I would just be careful how you answer- in his case honesty was NOT the best policy as everything he said was completely twisted and made to fit one of their "models".

All the best

[Turtle]

Rights Fighter: I've done that now, hopefully as many people as possible can see this information, Scots law is so confusing any little bit of help is valuable.

AmandaF: It is with Social Services and we already know full well to mind what he says considering a member of SS lied at my OH trial! I will be with h for support but I know I can't say anything, I'm hoping to get him ready for the questions that they will ask beforehand so nothing comes as a shock.
If you don't mind me asking who were your lawyers they seem very similar to ours?

[Rights Fighter]

Thanks so much for that. Things get buried under new threads and posts