The Judicial Oath
The oath which is sworn by all judges as a statement of principles and ethics and is in place to protect the public from judicial bias. But is its safeguards sufficient to permit the introduction of Judge only trials in sexual assault and rape cases
Critics of Lady Dorrian’s proposal contend that the act of removing trial by jury introduces the probability of bias that a defendant accused of rape or sexual assault is guilty. So trial by a judge starts with the accused being considered guilty and the defending barrister needs to prove beyond doubt that their client is innocent. Rough justice indeed!!!
Recusal also needs to be considered but the is impossible to enforce since judges are not required to declare their outside interests.
Will the judge be female where the accuser is a female and the reverse if it is a male. ?
Where do transgender people fit? Is the defendant provided with a choice of judge?
Should judges be required to hear all the defendant’s evidence?
Will judges be compelled by law to declare their sexuality before a trial?
Behaviour traits are likely to be raised in the course of a trial and this could influence a judge’s decision eg: Should a judge guilty of enjoying a number of illicit sexual relationships with married lovers, (to the detriment of their marriage) preside over cases of accusations of marital assault?
There are many more questions that need to be asked and answered before any change in the existing procedures are contemplated
Conclusion
The conduct of the Scottish judiciary (see the article below) does not inspire confidence that the introduction of Judge only trials would improve the existing provisions which have been in place for many years. An adversarial trial in the presence of a jury should remain on statute.
The ‘Magic Circle’ scandal that shook the Scottish legal profession.
Claims about a group of gay judges and lawyers allegedly involved in a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice promoted an inquiry that failed to substantiate any allegations, and no criminal wrongdoing by members of the bench was ever uncovered. Rumours about the sexuality of senior judges erupted into the public domain with Lord Dervaird’s abrupt resignation on 22 December, which followed a meeting with Mr Rifkind and the Lord President of the Court of Session, Lord Hope.
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/apology-call-gay-scandal-ended-lord-dervairds-career-1459296
Allegations of a homosexual network within the Scottish legal establishment have been circulating for several years among lawyers, politicians and journalists.
Even the suspicion that such a network might exist and be interfering with the judicial process clouded the relationship between police, who assemble cases, and the Crown Office (the equivalent of the English Director of Public Prosecutions), which decides whom to prosecute.
The rumours were given substance when Scottish newspaper editors were called to the home of Lord Hope, Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland’s senior judge, to be told, unattributably, that three judges had been questioned about homosexual activities. The number shocked the legal establishment.
All the judges involved were in the Court of Session, the supreme court of Scotland, where there are only 24 judges. One allegation involved two judges entertaining young homosexuals at a cottage in south-west Scotland. Another involved the appearance, briefly, of a judge at a homosexual disco.
The 11-page leaked report, by a senior detective from Lothian and Borders Police, details facts and speculation surrounding Crown Office decision not to prosecute in some cases and to abandon others. The five cases mentioned in the report are:
A fraud involving a six-figure sum and involving a Scottish- based building firm;
An investigation surrounding embezzlement in a collapsed solicitor’s firm, where the two partners involved were homosexual;
A three-year inquiry into an alleged mortgage fraud in which a leading advocate was a suspect;
The withdrawal of 47 of the 57 charges brought in a case concerning claims by a 16-year-old boy who ran away from a children’s home. His claims led to an inquiry into a network of homosexuals who used a male prostitute to procure young men for sex. Five of the 10 accused walked free, one went to trial and was found not proven and the remaining four pleaded guilty to reduced charges;
Scandal Solicitor David Blair Wilson is convicted of attempted smuggling of drugs & mobile phones into Saughton jail
http://scottishlaw.blogspot.com/2013/04/magic-circle-of-scottish-judges-rent.html
Calls for top judge to quit over Rangers malicious prosecution cases
It is feared the total bill for the disastrous decision to prosecute those involved in the administration of Rangers will cost the public more than £100million.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/rangers-frank-mulholland-charles-green-24736350
caltonjock 
2 replies on “Critics of Lady Dorrian’s proposal contend that the act of removing trial by jury introduces the probability of bias that a defendant accused of rape or sexual assault is guilty. So trial by a judge starts with the accused being considered guilty and the defending barrister needs to prove beyond doubt that their client is innocent. Rough justice indeed!!!”
Like the priest of the Catholic Church it is an absolute certainty thtt judges will breach trust and behave in inappropriate and criminal ways. Removing oversight of them is inviting a gravely compromised and rotten judiciary.
The justice system in Scotland is as rotten as many of the Latin American countries where the judges are bought by the ruling cartels.
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I didn’t think of priest’s, your analogy is an apt fit. The safeguards in place are antiquated and unfit for purpose.
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