A teenager serving time for participating in a brutal attempted murder bid has failed in a bid to have his conviction quashed.
Brandon Douglas,18, is serving 10 years and three months for taking part in an assault on a man at his home in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, in November 2018.
The Court of Criminal Appeal heard last month how judge Lord Mulholland made an error during proceedings at the High Court in Aberdeen last year.
Advocate Iain Smith told judges Lord Brodie, Lord Malcolm and Lord Turnbull that his client’s legal team made a no case to answer submission during submissions.
The court heard how Douglas’s lawyers told Lord Mulholland that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him for taking part in the attack.
Lord Mulholland disagreed and allowed the case against Douglas to proceed.
Mr Smith told the appeal court that Lord Mulholland acted incorrectly.
In a written judgement issued on Wednesday, the appeal judges dismissed the submissions made by Mr Smith. Lord Brodie wrote that Lord Mulholland followed correct legal guidelines.
He wrote: “The trial judge did not err in rejecting the submission of no case to answer.
There has been no miscarriage of justice.”
During proceedings last year, a jury heard how Douglas teamed up with Martin Gemmell, 28, and Brandon Wilson to break into the man’s home.
The trio launched an assault on their victim which left him “severely injured and permanently disfigured” before stealing a games console and two mobile phones.
The man now walks with crutches and needs a hip replacement.
He told officers he was chased through his house by the masked attackers, who broke down the bathroom door with an axe when he tried to hide.
Wilson and Gemmell also broke into another man’s home in Boddam on the same day and attacked him with knives.
Prosecutor Alan Cameron told the court how the trio “did not care” if their victim “lived or died”.
In his closing speech to jurors, Mr Cameron said: “They could have easily killed him and were wickedly reckless.”
Wilson was jailed for seven years while Gemmell was given a 10-year sentence.
Douglas – who has previous convictions for assault to injury using a stun gun and metal bar – was locked up for 10 years and three months.
Mr Smith addressed the judges during a virtual hearing of the court last month.
Talking about Lord Mulholland’s supposed failure, Mr Smith added: “His Lordship should have upheld the no case to answer submission.”
Prosecution lawyer Richard Goddard QC told the judges that Douglas hadn’t fallen victim to a miscarriage of justice.
He added: “There was sufficient evidence available to entitle the jury to convict the appellant and to conclude that he was one of the three men who broke into the house and participated in the attack.”
Lord Brodie added: “The appeal is accordingly refused.”
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