The answer is yes you can, and further an accused cannot be penalised for doing that. It is a very common occurrence, as every person is entitled to test the crown case, including the strength of the evidence ie its quality and quantity, and also its admissibility. as well as the efficacy of the procedures involved during the trial process.

This is a particular strength of Richard Freeman, and has earned him the reputation of Mr Technicality amongst his peers and clients for winning cases on this basis.

As every case is different there are pros and cons which have to be weighed up very carefully. Contact Criminal Defence Solutions for a full analysis of your case.

A solicitor should spend as much time as he needs to obtain all the necessary information from you.

He will do this by taking a statement to ascertain what your account is and to determine to what extent, if at all it, can be helpful. He will then seek to back it up with as much supporting evidence as possible. Any such evidence should be secured as early as possible to preserve it, such as potential defence witnesses, photographs, videos of the event, or immediately after, emails, receipts texts messages, social media comments etc.

He should seek your detailed comments on the crown evidence as this is an essential basis for cross examination.

The short answer is no. In many cases it would not be appropriate to do so. In other cases, it may be in your best interest to do so.

In general terms it comes down to whether you can add or contribute to the success of the trial. Sometimes a decision can be made provisionally at an early stage, and on other occasions the decision is best left to the trial after hearing the Crown case.

Very often we are given a strong signal by a judge after the crown case is concluded that he has already found in our favour and there is no need to give evidence. This is a judgement call that can change, during the life of the case.

Very often we are able to persuade a Fiscal to discontinue the proceedings, for a number of reasons, even when a client accepts guilt. There can be extenuating circumstances, or lack of evidence, or the Fiscal may be persuaded that it is not in the public interest to prosecute your case.

There are many reasons to make such an approach to the Fiscal, but there are also tactical reasons in certain circumstances to hold back. At Criminal Defence Solutions we know exactly when to strike, and when not to.

This is always possible. An approach can be made to the Fiscal at any time during the a l case, even before the case is brought to court. Again there are pros and cons involved, which are best discussed in greater detail before a decision is made, and a strategy formulated.

Many lawyers in their websites and in their marketing generally set themselves up as a specialist, so you need to test this to make sure.

There are a combination of factors you can take into account in making your assessment of the level of their expertise:
The number of years in practice in the relevant field of law, as well as the breadth of their experience; their qualifications, e.g. whether they have solicitor advocate status; evidence about their case load and about similar cases they have done; what resources they have to best present your case. Check for independent assessments of the credibility to their claims, research them on the internet, and once satisfied, ask them what approach they might take with your own case.

The format of all trials are regulated by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act.

The crown case.
The Prosecution has to prove the case against an accused so they start by leading their evidence by calling one witness after the other. Each witness is questioned by the Prosecutor in court and then the lawyer representing the accused is entitled to cross examine that witness. After that the Prosecutor is entitled to try and repair any damage resulting from the cross examination by further questioning. This procedure is followed in turn for every witness. After all evidence is lead the Prosecutor will tell the judge that he has closed his case.
If there is insufficient evidence led to prove the charge then the defence can make a no case to answer submission about that and if this is upheld by the judge the accused is found not guilty. Very often the Prosecutors case can be brought to an end at this point.

The defence case
If there is enough evidence the accused can then go into the witness box and give evidence. The procedure is the same. For example in an assault case he can give evidence of self-defence. He can then lead any evidence from other witnesses to support him.

The Prosecutor can cross examine the accused and any other witnesses to the accused.

Submissions
At the end of the defence case the lawyer tells the court that is the defence case and then legal submissions are made be the prosecutor inciting the judge to find the accused guilty and this is followed by the defence lawyer inviting the judge to acquit his client.

The judge will then have to make his decision.

This is a very simplistic account as the Criminal procedure (Scotland) Act has 400 pages, covering procedure in relation to trials. It is important that a lawyer knows the procedures intimately and knows when to object to evidence and the multitude of reasons why, and when this should be done.