Mobbing and Rioting
The common law crime of mobbing is committed when people combine together to achieve a commonly shared purpose by violence or intimidation, and where their combined conduct causes alarm to the community and disturbance of the public peace. Older cases refer to "Mobbing and Rioting". Rioting was the general description of fighting between two or more persons, but is inapplicable since the abolition of the Riot Act 1714. Modern indictments for the crime, however, still commonly refer to the accused "forming part of a riotous mob".
Some interesting mobbing and rioting cases from the 19th Century and early 20th Century:-
HM Advocate v Blair, 1868, 1 Coup. 168
In this case the indictment charged mobbing and rioting and breach of the peace. The mob assembled at a pontage (or toll-gate and toll-house), which was the property of the Duke of Atholl. It appeared that the mob's aim was to destroy the toll-house and gate to prevent the Duke and his toll-keeper from levying tolls. In fact it was found that the toll-house and gate were situated on the public road and not on the Duke's property, and that the Duke had no right to obstruct the public road nor to levy tolls. The court found that the charge was irrelevant because it did not set forth any illegal purpose for which the mob was assembled.
HM Advocate v Macrae, 1888, 15 R (J) 33
The evidence for the Crown was that the accused were part of a mob of more than one hundred people who entered a deer forest during the day-time, and marched across it shooting deer as they went. The keepers were unable to take any action as the intruders were in such large numbers, and the mob remained in the forest for two days. Lord Justice Clerk Moncrieff directed the jury that if such behaviour were proved, it amounted to mobbing and rioting.
HM Advocate v Gollan, , 1883, 5 Coup 168
Ten people assembled with a crowd at a pier for the purpose of preventing what they considered to be Sabbath desecration. They objected to the unloading of fish on a Sunday at the pier, for onward transport by rail. They overcame the police and "riotously and tumultuously" prevented the fish from being unloaded. They were convicted of mobbing and rioting and were imprisoned for four months.
Sloan v MacMillan, 1922, JC 1
During a miner's strike, seventeen people, acting together to carry out a miner's union resolution, went to the colliery intent on stopping pumping work which was being carried out by volunteers. Five of the group, including the leader went into the pit, and the rest stayed outside. The leader indicated to the police and the voluntary workers that there were hundreds of angry miners outside the pit who he would have difficulty in controlling if the pumping did not cease. The volunteers were overwhelmed by the threat and did as they were asked, drawing some of the fires used for powering machinery as they left. Two of the men with the leader of the group drew the rest of the fires. The sheriff tried and convicted two of the group who drew the fires, and the leader, of forming part of a riotous mob, acting for a common purpose, who had unlawfully compelled the voluntary workers to stop work. The men appealed, but the sentence was upheld because it was found that they had not employed peaceful persuasion, and had illegally compelled the voluntary workers to stop the pumping work, by direct threats.
References:-
C H W Gane and C N Stoddart, A Casebook on Scottish Criminal Law, W Green/Sweet & Maxwell, 3rd edition, 2001
T H Jones and M G A Christie, Criminal Law, W Green, 3rd Edition, 2003
An Analytical Digest of Cases decided in the Supreme Courts of Scotland, and, on Appeal , in the House of Lords 1868 to 1922, William Hodge, 1924