Controversial decisions by a Dundee sheriff to throw out court cases due to failures by police and procurators have been appealed by the Crown Office.
A trio of cases alleging assault, shoplifting and benefit fraud collapsed at Dundee Sheriff Court a fortnight ago after Sheriff Alastair Brown was told there had been delays of up to two years.
Prosecutors had failed to obtain vital CCTV footage from police which caused two of the cases to fall apart, while delays of almost two years at the Department for Work and Pensions resulted in a third case being rejected.
Another potential trial involving allegations of abuse against a child collapsed after it emerged a vital witness had not been cited, although it is understood the Crown have not lodged an appeal in that case.
The Crown Office previously intimated it was considering appealing the other cases and prosecutors confirmed the move last night.
Solicitor advocate Jim Laverty of Dundee law firm Muir Myles Laverty said he had been served with two bills of advocation against the decision by Sheriff Brown to desert the cases against his clients Francis Kelbie and Jack Cook.
He said: “The bills have been served on us and I will be instructing our senior legal representatives in Edinburgh to handle the case.”
Scott Norrie, of Norrie & Gilmartin, also confirmed he had received notice of the appeal against Nadia Shields.
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