Goodwillie prosecutors 'wrong' not to put footballer on trial for rape, court hears

What the report says

A Scottish appeal court has heard arguments over whether prosecutors were wrong not to take former Scotland footballer David Goodwillie to trial over a rape allegation. The case was brought by Denise Clair, who is seeking permission for a rare private criminal prosecution after a civil court previously ruled that Goodwillie and his then Dundee United teammate David Robertson raped her in Armadale, West Lothian, in January 2011.

Her lawyer, Thomas Ross KC, told judges in Edinburgh that the Crown Office had made an error in dropping rape charges for lack of sufficient evidence. He argued there was enough material available at the time to justify a prosecution and that the decision not to proceed was irrational. The Crown’s lawyer, Alan Cameron KC, rejected that claim, saying prosecutors were entitled to conclude that the evidence did not justify bringing Goodwillie to court.

The legal test for authorising a private prosecution is a high one, and Clair’s lawyers must show that no reasonable prosecutor could have made the original decision. The court also heard debate about whether evidence given by Goodwillie in the earlier civil case could be used in this process. Lord Pentland said the judges would consider the submissions and issue a ruling as soon as practicable.

Background supplied by BBC Sport Football notes that the civil case in 2017 was the first of its kind in Scotland and resulted in damages being awarded to Clair.