Appeal under section 194ZB(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 by Michael Stachan against His Majesty's Advocate
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Court | High Court of Justiciary |
| Judge | Lord Justice Clerk,Lord Matthews,Lord Clark |
| Judgment Date | 31 July 2026 |
| Neutral Citation | PLEASE SEE THE OPINION 31 JULY 2026, [2026] HCJAC 33 |
| Date | 31 July 2026 |
| Published date | 31 July 2026 |
| Docket Number | 2026hcjac33-appeal-under-section-194zb-1-of-the-criminal-procedure- |
PLEASE NOTE: THERE WAS AN ERROR IN THIS OPINION AND
IT HAS NOW BEEN SUPERSEDED.
PLEASE SEE THE OPINION 31 JULY 2026, [2026] HCJAC 33
2026hcjac33-appeal-under-section-194zb-1-of-the-criminal-procedure-
scotland-act-1995-bymichael-stachan-against-procurator-fiscal-
edinburgh.pdf
APPEAL COURT, HIGH COURT OF JUSTICIARY
[2026] HCJAC 30
HCA/2026/000118/XC
Lord Justice Clerk
Lord Matthews
Lord Clark
OPINION OF THE COURT
delivered by LORD BECKETT, the LORD JUSTICE CLERK
in
appeal under section 194ZB(1) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
by
MICHAEL STACHAN
Appellant
against
HIS MAJESTY’S ADVOCATE
Respondent
Appellant: Collins (Sol Adv); Collins and Co (for CSG Solicitors, Edinburgh)
Respondent: Harvey AD; the Crown Agent
________________________
2
31 July 2026
Introduction
[1] The appellant was convicted on summary complaint at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of
the following charge of domestic abuse:
“(001) between 15 September 2020 and 20 November 2022, both dates inclusive, at
[an address in Edinburgh] you … did engage in a course of behaviour which was
abusive of your partner or ex-partner [AA] in that you did repeatedly shout and
utter derogatory remarks towards her; punch walls there and damage same; throw a
glass of water over her; seize her by the body and throw a purse and cause it to strike
her on the head; seize her by the clothing; and pull her to the ground, lift a bed she
was lying on and cause her to fall to the ground and said bed to strike her on the
body, push her on the body and cause her to fall to the ground, pin her on the
ground and repeatedly kick and strike her on the body with your leg and punch her
on the head, throw a vacuum cleaner towards her and cause it to strike her on the
body and damage same all to her injury;
CONTRARY to the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, Section 1”
The offence was aggravated by its occurrence when the appellant was on bail.
[2] On 9 June 2025 the sheriff imposed a community payback order with supervision
and conduct requirements for a period of 3 years and an unpaid work requirement of
300 hours to be completed within 18 months. The sheriff also imposed a non-harassment
order concerning AA, for 3 years.
[3] The appellant appealed to the Sheriff Appeal Court. He maintained that hearsay
evidence, in statements made by the complainer to a police officer, ought not to have been
admitted at his trial under section 259 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. The
SAC found that the sheriff erred in admitting the hearsay evidence but concluded there was
no miscarriage of justice given the sheriff’s careful and discerning approach to the totality of
the evidence led.
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