John Pryde & Company SSC are a team of qualified and experienced criminal defence solicitors based at our office in Edinburgh. We advise and represent those accused of crimes across the Lothians and beyond. Registered with the Scottish Legal Aid Board. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Police Interviews.
The police can ask to interview you long before anyone is charged, and what you say in that room becomes evidence. You have the right to speak to a solicitor first, and to have one present while you are questioned.
John Pryde & Company SSC attend police stations across Edinburgh and the Lothians at any hour. We take your instructions in private before the interview begins, explain what the allegation actually is, and advise on whether to answer questions, to decline to answer, or to provide a prepared statement. During the interview we intervene where questioning is unfair or goes beyond what the law allows, and we keep our own record of what was put to you.
What we do at the police station
- Attendance at interview, day or night
- Private consultation before questioning begins
- Advice on answering, declining to answer, or a prepared statement
- Attendance at identification procedures
- Advice where you attend voluntarily rather than under arrest
- Representation for children and vulnerable adults
- Advice on fingerprints, samples and DNA
- Contact with your family where you cannot make it yourself
You are entitled to advice before you are questioned, and asking for it cannot be held against you. If the police have asked you to attend, call 0131 220 2160 before you go.
Bail Undertakings.
Released from the police station on an undertaking to appear at court, you are already subject to conditions, and breaking one of them is a separate offence in its own right. Many people do not realise the undertaking has started until they have already breached it.
John Pryde & Company SSC explain in plain terms what your undertaking requires of you, and appear with you on the date it names. Where a condition is disproportionate, or makes it impossible to work, to see your children, or to go home, we apply to have it reviewed. If you are accused of breaching an undertaking or a bail order, we act quickly, because a breach affects both the new allegation and the case it attaches to.
Matters we advise on
- Undertakings given on release from police custody
- Bail conditions imposed by the court
- Applications to review or vary a condition
- Conditions on address, contact and curfew
- Breach of an undertaking
- Breach of bail
- Bail appeals following a refusal
- Bail in solemn proceedings
A condition you cannot keep can be reviewed, but not by ignoring it. Call us on 0131 220 2160 before the date on the paperwork.
Criminal Offences.
Most criminal cases turn on the evidence long before they reach a verdict. Whether the charge is summary or solemn, the work that decides the outcome is usually done in the weeks after the charge, not on the day of the trial.
John Pryde & Company SSC advise and represent clients at every level of the criminal courts, from summary proceedings in the Justice of the Peace Court to solemn procedure in the Sheriff Court and the High Court of Justiciary. We examine the disclosure carefully. Witness reliability, identification, forensic material and procedural compliance are all scrutinised, and we build the strongest defence available on the facts. Where conviction is likely, mitigation is prepared with the same care as a defence.
Matters we advise on
- Murder and culpable homicide
- Rape and other serious sexual offences
- Assault, including serious and domestic assault
- Threatening or abusive behaviour and breach of the peace
- Theft, housebreaking and robbery
- Possession and supply of controlled drugs
- Fraud, benefit fraud and embezzlement
- Firearms and offensive weapons
- Fire raising and vandalism
- Breach of a court order
What decides a case is usually in the disclosure rather than in the complaint. Call us on 0131 220 2160 as soon as you are charged, so there is time to read it.
Road Traffic Offences.
Road traffic convictions can have serious and far-reaching consequences for your livelihood, your employment, and your everyday life. Whether you face a driving ban, penalty points, or a fine, the right legal advice at the earliest stage can make all the difference.
John Pryde & Company SSC advise on the full range of road traffic matters. We understand the technical requirements of road traffic law and regularly challenge the admissibility of evidential breath test results, speed camera evidence, and the procedural compliance of police stops. Where a driving ban would cause exceptional hardship, we argue that case firmly. Our aim is to protect your licence and keep you on the road wherever the law allows.
Matters we advise on
- Drink driving
- Drug driving
- Dangerous driving
- Careless or inconsiderate driving
- Speeding
- Using a mobile phone while driving
- Driving without insurance
- Driving while disqualified
- Totting up disqualification
- Failing to provide a specimen
Do not enter a plea before taking legal advice. Many technical defences are only available before a plea of guilty is entered. Call us on 0131 220 2160.
Appeals & Agency.
A conviction or a sentence is not always the end of the matter, and the time you have to challenge one is short. Appeal deadlines run from the date of the decision, not from the date you decide to do something about it.
John Pryde & Company SSC advise on the merits of an appeal honestly, including where there are none, and prepare and argue appeals against both conviction and sentence. We also act as local agents for solicitors elsewhere in Scotland and further afield, appearing on their behalf in the courts we work in every week. Instructing agents receive a full report on what happened in court, the same day where the case calls in the morning.
What we advise on
- Appeal against conviction, summary and solemn
- Appeal against sentence
- Stated case appeals
- Bills of suspension
- Applications for an extension of time
- Referrals to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
- Agency work for solicitors outside the area
- Court appearances on behalf of instructing agents
Appeal deadlines are measured in days rather than months. If you are considering an appeal, call 0131 220 2160 as soon as the decision is made.
Parole and Extradition.
Parole hearings and extradition proceedings both decide whether a person keeps their liberty, and both turn on written material prepared well in advance. By the time the hearing is called, most of the work that will decide it has already been done.
John Pryde & Company SSC prepare and present cases to the Parole Board for Scotland, including hearings following recall on licence, and advise on the reports the board will read before it sits. On extradition, we act for people arrested in Scotland on a warrant issued abroad. Extradition proceedings for the whole of Scotland call at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, a few minutes from our office, and we advise on the grounds of opposition available and on what consenting would mean.
What we advise on
- Parole Board for Scotland hearings
- Recall to custody following breach of licence
- Licence conditions and their variation
- Life prisoner tribunals
- Extradition arrest warrants
- Requests from treaty states
- Grounds of opposition, including delay and human rights
- Consent to extradition and what it means
Both processes move faster than people expect. If you have been recalled, or arrested on an extradition warrant, call 0131 220 2160.
Legal Aid.
John Pryde & Company SSC are registered with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and are committed to ensuring that everyone facing criminal charges has access to quality legal representation, regardless of their financial circumstances.
We advise on legal aid eligibility at your first consultation. We apply to the Scottish Legal Aid Board on your behalf and aim to secure criminal legal assistance for all those who qualify. For those who do not qualify, we offer competitive fixed fees agreed at the outset so you know the cost of your defence before we begin. No one should face criminal proceedings without proper representation because of cost.
What we can provide
- Advice and assistance, including duty solicitor cover at the police station
- Assistance by way of representation
- Criminal legal aid for solemn proceedings
- Criminal legal aid for summary proceedings
- 24-hour police station assistance
- Fixed fees for those not qualifying for legal aid
If you are facing criminal charges and need our support, call 0131 220 2160.
Immigration Services.
A criminal conviction can put your right to remain in the United Kingdom at risk, and an immigration decision is often made without much regard to what actually happened in the criminal case. The two are best handled together.
John Pryde & Company SSC advise on the immigration consequences of a criminal charge from the outset, so that decisions taken in the criminal court are made with the immigration position in view. We advise those facing deportation or removal following a conviction, and on applications and appeals more generally. Where a matter falls outside what we do, we will tell you so and help you find someone who can take it on.
What we advise on
- Immigration consequences of a criminal charge or conviction
- Deportation and removal following conviction
- Appeals against a deportation decision
- Immigration detention and bail
- Asylum and human rights claims
- Applications to remain in the United Kingdom
- Appeals to the immigration tribunal
- Advice for foreign nationals in police custody
If you are not a British citizen and have been charged with an offence, take advice on both matters before you enter a plea. Call 0131 220 2160.
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