Scottish pilot of jury-less rape court cases dropped after backlash from lawyers

Campaigners disappointed after plan scrapped, amid evidence juries are influenced by rape myths

The Scottish government has scrapped a pilot of jury-less trials for rape cases, which aimed to tackle endemic low conviction rates for sexual assault prosecution, after a backlash from the highest levels of the legal profession.

Campaigners against sexual violence expressed disappointment that the proposal, which would have made Scotland the first part of the UK to use specialist courts and judge-only trials for serious sexual assaults, had been dropped.