Through the Looking Glass? Feminist Praxis, Artistic Methods and Scottish Feminist Judging

The Moorov doctrine and coercive control: Proving a ‘course of behaviour’ under s. 1 of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018

“…While the question of how to fix the genderedness of the criminal law and its key players is beyond the scope of this particular article, it is worth briefly alluding to the potential role that improved judicial diversity in Scotland (specifically through the appointment of more feminist judges) could have in facilitating juror understanding of both gendered concepts like coercive control and the gendered impact of corroboration. 107 Indeed, the significant practical difference that a gendered analysis can make in these areas is illustrated by the recent feminist re-writing of the cases of Ruxton v Lang 108 (concerning the applicability of the defence of necessity in the context of a domestically abusive relationship) (Cowan and Munro, 2019) and Smith v Lees 109 (a landmark corroboration case that limited the corroborative value of a complainer’s distress in sexual offence cases) (Cairns, 2019) as part of the Scottish Feminist Judgments Project (Cowan et al, 2019).…”

“…In light of the reality that Scotland continues to have a poor record on judicial diversity (Cowan et al, 2019) and the well-reported limits of the criminal law and justice system in tackling gender-based violence, it is tempting to conclude that the ‘gold-standard’ Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 may in time find itself on the ever-growing list of feminist-inspired law reform that has failed to live up to its full promise. 110 This possibility of unfulfilled potential, and the risk of unintended consequences, has led some commentators in other jurisdictions to express caution over the value of criminalising coercive and controlling behaviours in intimate partner relationships (see, for example, Tolmie, 2018).…”

“… 107. For discussion of Scotland’s poor record of judicial diversity see Cowan et al (2019: 25–28). Cowan et al also explore the merits and challenges of feminist judging in the introductory chapters to their book.…”

Reflecting on Legal Responses to Intimate Partner Femicide in Scotland

“…Although Drury was ultimately convicted of McKenna's murder, the case continues to be recognized as deeply problematic. This discomfort was evidenced recently by its inclusion in the recent Scottish Feminist Judgments Project (Cowan et al, 2019). Claire McDiarmid (2010), who has previously written about the problems associated with provocation, submitted a feminist judgment and reflection on the case while Jay Whittaker used the case to create a powerful poem for the artistic strand of the project (Cowan et al, 2019).…”