The UK Supreme Court is due to rule on the case A case which could fundamentally alter the way Scots police question suspects is to conclude at the UK Supreme Court.
It will rule on the case of Peter Cadder, a teenager charged with assault and breach of the peace, who was convicted on the basis of evidence gained before he spoke to his lawyer.
Currently, police can question suspects for six hours without a lawyer present, then they must be freed or charged.
But a European court has ruled access to a lawyer is part of a fair trial.
This ruling was made by the European Court of Human Rights in 2008.
If the Crown Office loses the Peter Cadder case, other similar convictions may be reviewed or appealed.
Among them could be Luke Mitchell, who was just 14 when he was questioned without a lawyer by police investigating the murder of his girlfriend, Jodi Jones.
That aspect of his case is already being investigated by the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
The Crown Office recently ordered lawyers to be allowed immediate access to arrested clients.
David McLetchie, of the Scottish Conservatives, said: “This issue is now coming to a head.
“If the Supreme Court decides in favour of Cadder and the decision is retrospective, then the Scottish Conservatives stand ready to work with the rest of parliament to limit the damage.
“As we saw with the slopping-out fiasco, ECHR can often serve the interests of the criminal, rather than the law-abiding majority.
“Its incorporation into the Scotland Act in 1998 was an error of judgment which, 12 years on, needs to be reviewed.”
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