A man’s conviction for sexual assault was quashed after a sheriff appeared to indicate to jurors that he was guilty.
Anthony Godden was found guilty at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court of assaulting a woman at an address in the town in January last year.
However, his appeal to the Court of Session was successful after it heard that the judge told the jury he had deleted parts of the charge against Mr Godden “with little enthusiasm”.
Mr Godden claimed he did not receive a fair trial as the sheriff appeared to have expressed a view in open court before the case concluded that he was guilty.
The sheriff’s argument that he was simply referring to a difference in Scottish and English law regarding corroboration of evidence which would have seen the whole charge put to the jury in England was accepted.
However, delivering her opinion Lady Paton said: “A reasonable observer, without that specialised knowledge, would in our opinion form the view that the sheriff had found the complainer wholly credible and reliable.
“Such an impression, would inevitably, in our opinion, raise the suspicion in the mind of a reasonable observer that the sheriff had already made up his mind that the complainer was telling the truth and that the appellant must…be guilty of the offence as charged.”
His conviction of making sexually suggestive comments and shouting, swearing and threatening violence stands.