Criminal law and evidence – Threatening or abusive behaviour. Sheriff Court: In a case in which the accused ('the minuter') challenged the relevancy of two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner and the admissibility of evidence in support of those charges, the court repelled the relevancy plea, holding that for the purposes of s 38(1) of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act actual fear and alarm suffered by someone present did not have to be demonstrated, but it sustained the minute in relation to the admissibility of evidence, concluding that it would be unfair to admit the evidence of the witnesses the Crown intended to lead in support of the charges.