Doors Open Day this weekend – Parliament House

You have the opportunity to see inside Edinburgh’s courts this weekend as part of Doors Open Day.

The Supreme Courts invite you to go along to Parliament House on Saturday, 28 September between 10.00am and 4.00pm when a wide range of activities will be available.

There will be tours of the building, including the magnificent Parliament Hall and courtrooms, and visits to the cells and a custody van. A centrepiece of the day’s activities will be re-runs of the famous Madeleine Smith trial, which caused a furore in Victorian Scotland when the Glasgow woman was accused of poisoning her lover. The mock trial will take place every 45 minutes in Court 9.

There will also be an exhibition of wigs, gowns and robes and displays by partner
justice organisations including the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Sentencing
Council and the Scottish Civil Justice Council.

Edinburgh Sheriff and Justic eof the Peace Court invites visitors between 9:30am and 4:30pm on Saturday and will be running tours of the building and the cells there every 15 minutes throughout the day. There will be a chance to look round a custody van and see speed camera vehicles as well as meeting a drug-sniffing dog team. There will be mock trials during the day and stalls with displays on the work of other justice organisations including the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Witness Service, Aid & Abet, Police Scotland, the Edinburgh Bar Association, Families Outside and the Listening Service.

Details of the event can be found on the Doors Open Day website.