Abstract
On 5 May 2023, the appeal court (Lord Pentland and Lord Matthews) issued its opinion in the conjoined appeals against sentence by Alasdair Finlayson and Cameron Ross (Finlayson (Alasdair James) v HM Advocate [2023] HCJAC 13). The two appeals against sentence both concerned offences of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, contrary to s.4(3)(b) of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (the 1971 Act). The appeals involved instances of so-called "county line" drug offending, in which criminal gangs migrate their business in supplying Class A drugs from urban conurbations into rural areas. The appeals are also further examples of the use by the Scottish courts of English sentencing guidelines as a cross-check, or comparator. In particular, in disposing of the appeals, the appeal court followed the sentencing judge in having recourse to the most recent set of English sentencing guidelines on drugs offences, *Crim. L.B. 3 issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales in 2021.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2-8 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Greens Criminal Law Bulletin |
| Issue number | 185 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
