How (not) to sentence rape of a “particularly vulnerable” victim: a critical examination of the Crown appeal against sentence in HM Advocate v MG — Part 4: some observations on the Crown’s submissions and the appeal court’s opinion

In the last in a series of four articles on the decision in HM Advocate v MG [2023] HCJAC 3; 2023 J.C. 68; 2023 S.L.T. 232; 2023 S.C.C.R. 97, an unsuccessful Crown appeal against sentence in which the appeal court upheld the respondent’s sentence of four years’ imprisonment for rape, the author considers certain key shortcomings of the Crown’s submissions in this sentence appeal, and certain errors made by the appeal court as evidenced in the court’s opinion. Conclusions are drawn as to the combined effect of these errors on the credibility of the Scottish courts, especially in relation to the sentencing of rape.