Independent legal representation and the victims, witnesses, and justice reform (Scotland) bill: A review of potential models of delivery

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Books and book chapters

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Craig, E, Putting Trials on Trial (McGill-Queens University Press, 2021).

Denvir, C and others, Legal Aid and the Future of Access to Justice (Hart, 2023).

Herman, J, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence (NY: Basic Books, 2015).

Killean, R, “Legal representation for sexual assault complainants”, in R Killean, E Dowds and A‑M McAlinden (eds), Sexual Violence on Trial: Local and Comparative Perspectives (Routledge, 2021).

McDonald, E, Rape Myths as Barriers to Fair Trial Process: Comparing Adult Rape Trials with Those in the Aotearoa Sexual Violence Court Pilot (Canterbury University Press, 2020).

O’Connell, M “Improving access to justice: procedural justice through legal counsel for victims of crime”, in J Joseph and S Jergenson (eds), An International Perspective on Contemporary Developments in Victimology, A Festschrift in Honor of Marc Groenhuijsen (Springer Switzerland, 2020).

Petrillo, M, “‘It made my mind unwell’: trauma-informed approaches to the mental health needs of women in the criminal justice system”, in J Winstone (ed), Mental Health, Crime and Criminal Justice (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016).

Ross, ML, Chalmers, J and Callander, I, Walker and Walker: The Law of Evidence in Scotland, 5th edn (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020).

Journal articles

Auty, KM and others, “What is trauma-informed practice? Towards operationalisation of the concept in two prisons for women” (2023) 23 Criminology & Criminal Justice 716.

Bellehumeur, K, “A former Crown’s vision for empowering survivors of sexual violence” (2020) 37 Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice 1.

Bellehumeur, K, “Systemic discrimination against female sexual violence victims” (2023) 11 Canadian Journal of Human Rights 131.

Brindley, S, “Exploring effective participation as a means to address re-traumatisation of complainers of sexual crime in Scotland” [2024] Crim LR 305.

Cooke, E, “‘Fat-cats’ versus ‘church mice’: unveiling legal aid practice from behind the shadows of private legal practice in England and Wales” (2024) 44 Legal Studies 573.

Day, A and others, “The effectiveness of trauma-informed youth justice: a discussion and review” (2023) 14 Frontiers in Psychology 1157695.

Emsley, E and others, “Trauma-informed care in the UK: where are we? A qualitative study of health policies and professional perspectives” (2022) 22 BMC Health Services Research 1164.

Fontin, F and others, “Compassion satisfaction and compassion fatigue among violence intervention caseworkers” (2020) 47 Journal of Social Service Research 486.

Gleeson, C, “The Sexual Assault Communications Privilege pro bono scheme” (2010-2011) Bar News: Journal of the NSW Bar Association 73.

Herman, J, “Recovery from psychological trauma” (1998) 52 Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences S98.

Iliadis, M, “Victim representation for sexual history evidence in Ireland: a step towards or away from meeting victims’ procedural justice needs” (2020) 20 Criminology & Criminal Justice 416.

Iliadis, M, Smith, O and Doak, J, “Independent separate legal representation for rape complainants in adversarial systems: lessons from Northern Ireland” (2021) 48 Journal of Law and Society 250.

James, C, “Towards trauma-informed legal practice: a review” (2020) 27 Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 275.

Jillard, A, Loughman, J and MacDonald, E, “From pilot project to systemic reform: keeping sexual assault victims’ counselling records confidential” (2012) 37 Alternative Law Journal 254.

Katz, S and Haldar, D, “The pedagogy of trauma-informed lawyering” (2016) 22 Clinical Law Review 359.

Kirchengast, T, “Victim lawyers, victim advocates, and the adversarial criminal trial” (2013) 16 New Criminal Law Review 568.

Kirchengast, T, “Victim legal representation and the adversarial criminal trial: a critical analysis of proposals for third party counsel for complainants of serious sexual violence” (2021) 25 International Journal of Evidence and Proof 53.

Kirchengast, T, Iliadis, M and O’Connell, M, “Development of the Office of Commissioner of Victims’ Rights as an appropriate response to improving the experiences of victims in the criminal justice system: integrity, access and justice for victims of crime” (2019) 45 Monash University Law Review 1.

Leering, M, “Conceptualizing reflective practice for legal professionals” (2014) 23 Journal of Law and Social Policy 83.

Levenson, J, “Trauma-informed social work practice” (2017) 62 Social Work 105.

Lowenberger, B and others, “Measuring improvements in access to justice: utilizing an A2J measurement framework for comparative justice data collection and program evaluation across Canada” (2021) 37 Windsor Yearbook of Access to Justice 337.

Murphy-Oikonen, J, Chambers, L, Miller, A and McQueen, K, “Sexual assault case attrition: the voices of survivors” (2022) 12 SAGE Open 21582440221144612.

Pike, C and Rebar, A, “What would a trauma-informed workplace ideally look like in legal aid? A qualitative perspective from lawyers” (2024) 31 Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 523.

Singer, J and others, “Compassion satisfaction, compassion fatigue, and burnout: a replication study with victim advocates” (2019) 46 Journal of Social Service Research 313.

Sulley, C and others, “‘At least they’re workin’ on my case?’ Victim notification in sexual assault ‘cold’ cases” (2021) 36 Journal of Interpersonal Violence 4360.

Wegrzyn, A and others, “Rape Crisis Victim Advocacy: a systematic review” (2023) 24 Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 1966.

Legislation etc .

Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 (Ireland).

Courts and Crimes Legislation Further Amendment Act 2010 (NSW).

Criminal Code (Canada).

Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (Northern Ireland).

Criminal Law (Rape) Act 1981 (Ireland).

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Act 2024 (Ireland).

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978 (Queensland).

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 (Ireland).

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 (Ireland).

Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995.

Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW).

Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Victoria).

Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Northern Ireland).

European Convention on Human Rights.

Evidence (Confidential Communications) Act 1998 (Victoria).

Evidence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1958 (Victoria).

Evidence Act 1929 (South Australia).

Evidence Act 1977 (Queensland).

Evidence Act 1995 (NSW).

Evidence Amendment (Confidential Communications) Act 1997 (NSW).

Human Rights Act 1998.

Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2015 (Northern Ireland).

Justice Legislation Amendment (Sexual Offences and Other Matters) Act 2022 (Victoria).

Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (NSW).

Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014 (Victoria).

Practice Direction 2/2019 (Case Management in the Crown Court including Protocols for Vulnerable Witnesses and Defendants) (Northern Ireland).

Sex Offenders Act 2001 (Ireland).

Victims and Witnesses of Crime Bill (Northern Ireland).

Victims of Crime Act 2001 (South Australia).

Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Cases

Addison v HM Advocate [2014] HCJAC 110; 2015 JC 107.

Brady v HM Advocate 1986 JC 68.

CH v HM Advocate [2020] HCJAC 43; 2021 JC 45.

CJM (No 2) v HM Advocate [2013] HCJAC 22; 2013 SLT 380.

DS v HM Advocate [2007] UKPC D1; 2007 SC (PC) 1.

HM Advocate v Moynihan [2018] HCJAC 43; 2019 SLT 370.

LL v HM Advocate [2018] HCJAC 35; 2018 JC 182.

Moir v HM Advocate [2007] HCJAC 20; 2007 SCCR 159.

R (TB) v The Combined Court at Stafford [2006] EWHC 1645 (Admin); 2007 WLR 1524.

RR v HM Advocate [2021] HCJAC 21; RR, Petitioner 2021 JC 167.

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission v Murray [2022] CSIH 46.

XY v HM Advocate [2022] HCJAC 2; 2022 JC 82.

Web sources and other

A Zabjek, “Pilot project offers victims of sexual violence access to free legal advice”, CBC News 5 Dec 2018.

ASSIST NI, “ASSIST NI”.

Australian Government, Attorney-General’s Department, Supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence - piloting new legal services models, media release, 20 September 2023.

CBC News, “BC non-profit now offering free legal advice to sexual assault survivors”, 17 Oct 2023.

Community Legal Assistance Society, Stand Informed.

COPFS, Submissions to the Criminal Justice Committee – Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill (2023).

Elizabeth Fry Northern Alberta, Independent Legal Advice for Survivors of Sexual Violence Project.

Faculty of Advocates, Response the to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill (2023).

The Faculty of Advocates Guide to the Professional Conduct of Advocates.

Law Society of New South Wales, Letter to the Law Council of Australia: Developing Legal Services for Victims and Survivors of Sexual Assault (2023).

Law Society of Scotland Practice Rules (2011).

Law Society of Scotland, Response to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill (2023).

Law Society of Scotland, Trauma-informed Lawyer Certification Course.

Legal Aid Alberta, Complainant Counsel Panel.

Legal Aid Queensland, Grants Handbook, Sexual Assault Counselling Privilege (Counselling Notes Protect).

Lockhart, P, “The impact of the SOLAs pilot”, Victim Support NI Conference: What Next for Victim Rights? (2023), speech.

N Vickers “Free legal advice for rape victims starts”, BBC News, 18 June 2024.

NHS Education for Scotland, National Trauma Transformation Programme.

O’Connell, M, (Commissioner for Victims’ Rights, South Australia), Victims’ Rights: Integrating Victims in Criminal Proceedings (2011), speech.

Parliamentary Record, Question answered by the Department of Justice, 24 March 2024.

Police Victim Services of British Columbia, “Independent Legal Advice for Survivors of Sexual Assault”, 2 Nov 2023.

Queensland Law Society, “How solicitors and barristers differ”.

Saskatchewan Government, “Province launches free legal advice program for survivors of sexual violence”, 24 Apr 2018.

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Response to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill (2023).

Senators of the College of Justice, Response to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill (2023).

Victim Support NI referral form. https://www.victimsupportni.com/help-for-victims/solas/

Victims Legal Service, “Additional support for sexual violence victim-survivors in court”, 29 February 2024.

Victoria Legal Aid, “Guideline 15 – Confidential communications and protected health information”.

Women’s Legal Aid Service Queensland, About Us.

Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Counselling Notes Protect (CNP) – Sexual Assault.

Women’s Legal Service Victoria, “Our Purpose”.

Z Olijnyk, “Changes at Legal Aid Alberta allows sexual assault complainants faster access to lawyers”, Canadian Lawyer, 4 Feb 2021.