Court records
The records of Scotland’s higher courts, including the High Court of Justiciary and sheriff courts are held by the National Records of Scotland, where the records of the Lord Advocate’s Department are also held. For further details see the research guides on crime and criminals, High Court criminal trials, and Sheriff Court records on the National Records of Scotland’s website <https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/research/guides/a-z > [accessed 26 April 2024].
The records of burgh courts, police courts and district courts are usually held by the relevant local authority archives service. Burgh court records are often the earliest surviving record of the burgh along with chartularies and protocol books and may cover the administration of the burgh as well as criminal and civil matters. The 19th and 20th century registers usually detail the name of the accused, the alleged offence, the date of trial and the outcome. These registers are usually closed for up to 100 years because the offences are spent, even although trials would have been held in public and the trials may have been reported in the press.