Sheriff Court Criminal records
Sheriff Court Criminal Records
Scotland historically had 3 tiers of criminal justice: the High Court of Justiciary, the Sheriff Court, and local courts (Police Courts, Burgh Courts, franchise courts. The High Court (known as the Circuit Court when it left its base in Edinburgh to travel round Scotland dispensing justice) was the highest court in the land – it tried the most serious offences, and could issue the most severe sentences. Local courts mostly tried minor offences – typically breach of the peace, minor thefts and the like. The Sheriff Courts sat in the middle, hearing a wide range of offences – most commonly theft, housebreaking, assault, but also robbery, sexual offences, fraud and embezzlement and perjury.
From the abolition of the franchise courts in 1746 onwards, the Sheriff Courts gradually acquired more powers and wider jurisdiction. The 19th century saw numerous statutes passed which are reflected in the emergence of new offences. One that will be familiar to every Scottish family historian is the offence of providing false information when registering a birth, marriage or death – there are currently 130 instances of this in this index. Significantly, not all these convictions are reflected in the Register of Corrected Entries (RCE). Likewise there are 157 entries for bigamy – most but not all of these are reflected in the RCE. There are also over 200 entries for culpable homicide – causing death by negligence. Forgery (and uttering) is another common offence.
Types of record
The records covered by this index vary considerably. The index includes a “record type” field to give an idea of what the entries contain.
A libel is a statement of the allegations, detailing the specific features of the offence (crime, location, time and date, victims, often including a citation of the relevant legislation). Before the entry into force of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act in 1887, these are usually at least 4 pages (but sometimes much longer), and include a description of the offence, a list of witnesses, a separate list of potential jurors, and often a list of productions – physical items produced by the prosecution as evidence. After 1887, they become less detailed: lists of jurors are no longer mandatory, and the wording becomes simpler, and are usually one or two pages, while still outlining the nature of the offence alleged. Libels are often printed.
A minute is a description of proceedings in court. Prosecutions were normally assigned two diets (sittings of court, from the Latin word for day) – the pleading diet and the trial diet. If the panel (the person accused) pleads guilty, he or she may well be sentenced immediately, or the court may delay sentence until later in the same diet or even the next day. If the panel pleads not guilty, the case will then be heard at the second diet, usually a week or two weeks later. Crucially, the minutes should tell you the verdict and sentence if any.
The organisation of minutes and libels varies considerably. In many cases, the minutes and diets are separate – often bound together, with the minutes first and all the libels bound in at the end, or vice versa. Sometimes, libels and minutes for a single case are recorded together in a volume – notably Edinburgh Sheriff Court records are organised in this way. For some courts in some periods, there are only libels, or only minutes.
What we have called transcripts are fully detailed records of an individual case. They often include lengthy transcripts of evidence given by witnesses, and arguments made by lawyers (often referred to as agents or procurators); these can be very extensive, sometimes covering 30 pages or more.
Court processes do not survive for all courts for all periods of time, but can be fascinating and incredibly detailed. They include declarations of the panels, witness statements, productions, general paperwork (citations, correspondence and the like). We have not yet begun indexing these records, as they are extremely time consuming to index, but will try to advise if a search for relevant processes is feasible when you order other records.
Coverage
At present, we have indexed records for the following courts:
Scotland historically had 3 tiers of criminal justice: the High Court of Justiciary, the Sheriff Court, and local courts (Police Courts, Burgh Courts, franchise courts. The High Court (known as the Circuit Court when it left its base in Edinburgh to travel round Scotland dispensing justice) was the highest court in the land – it tried the most serious offences, and could issue the most severe sentences. Local courts mostly tried minor offences – typically breach of the peace, minor thefts and the like. The Sheriff Courts sat in the middle, hearing a wide range of offences – most commonly theft, housebreaking, assault, but also robbery, sexual offences, fraud and embezzlement and perjury.
From the abolition of the franchise courts in 1746 onwards, the Sheriff Courts gradually acquired more powers and wider jurisdiction. The 19th century saw numerous statutes passed which are reflected in the emergence of new offences. One that will be familiar to every Scottish family historian is the offence of providing false information when registering a birth, marriage or death – there are currently 130 instances of this in this index. Significantly, not all these convictions are reflected in the Register of Corrected Entries (RCE). Likewise there are 157 entries for bigamy – most but not all of these are reflected in the RCE. There are also over 200 entries for culpable homicide – causing death by negligence. Forgery (and uttering) is another common offence.
Types of record
The records covered by this index vary considerably. The index includes a “record type” field to give an idea of what the entries contain.
A libel is a statement of the allegations, detailing the specific features of the offence (crime, location, time and date, victims, often including a citation of the relevant legislation). Before the entry into force of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act in 1887, these are usually at least 4 pages (but sometimes much longer), and include a description of the offence, a list of witnesses, a separate list of potential jurors, and often a list of productions – physical items produced by the prosecution as evidence. After 1887, they become less detailed: lists of jurors are no longer mandatory, and the wording becomes simpler, and are usually one or two pages, while still outlining the nature of the offence alleged. Libels are often printed.
A minute is a description of proceedings in court. Prosecutions were normally assigned two diets (sittings of court, from the Latin word for day) – the pleading diet and the trial diet. If the panel (the person accused) pleads guilty, he or she may well be sentenced immediately, or the court may delay sentence until later in the same diet or even the next day. If the panel pleads not guilty, the case will then be heard at the second diet, usually a week or two weeks later. Crucially, the minutes should tell you the verdict and sentence if any.
The organisation of minutes and libels varies considerably. In many cases, the minutes and diets are separate – often bound together, with the minutes first and all the libels bound in at the end, or vice versa. Sometimes, libels and minutes for a single case are recorded together in a volume – notably Edinburgh Sheriff Court records are organised in this way. For some courts in some periods, there are only libels, or only minutes.
What we have called transcripts are fully detailed records of an individual case. They often include lengthy transcripts of evidence given by witnesses, and arguments made by lawyers (often referred to as agents or procurators); these can be very extensive, sometimes covering 30 pages or more.
Court processes do not survive for all courts for all periods of time, but can be fascinating and incredibly detailed. They include declarations of the panels, witness statements, productions, general paperwork (citations, correspondence and the like). We have not yet begun indexing these records, as they are extremely time consuming to index, but will try to advise if a search for relevant processes is feasible when you order other records.
Coverage
At present, we have indexed records for the following courts:
| Court | Year of first entry | Year of last entry | Number of entries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 1823 | 1904 | 7113 |
| Airdrie | 1849 | 1851 | 174 |
| Ayr | 1835 | 1906 | 4903 |
| Banff | 1835 | 1911 | 781 |
| Cupar | 1821 | 1824 | 21 |
| Dumfries | 1821 | 1825 | 20 |
| Dundee | 1832 | 1835 | 195 |
| Forfar | 1829 | 1897 | 3147 |
| Hamilton | 1859 | 1876 | 714 |
| Kilmarnock | 1847 | 1926 | 1938 |
| Kirkcudbright | 1828 | 1834 | 84 |
| Lanark | 1828 | 1833 | 41 |
| Peebles | 1825 | 1833 | 178 |
| Rothesay | 1851 | 1893 | 1018 |
| Stirling | 1879 | 1879 | 44 |
| Stonehaven | 1822 | 1912 | 764 |
| Stranraer | 1867 | 1885 | 444 |
| Tain | 1828 | 1838 | 136 |
| Wick | 1836 | 1905 | 2135 |
We will be adding more entries to this index regularly.
Indexes
Aberdeen Airdrie Ayr Banff Cupar Dumfries Dundee Forfar Hamilton Kilmarnock Kirkcudbright Lanark Peebles Rothesay Stirling Stonehaven Stranraer Tain Wick
