A cornerstone of the Crown's prosecution of Anderson was the use of the
Moorov doctrine, which commonly features in sex cases in Scotland, where evidence from one witness can corroborate that of another because of a link in time, circumstances and character of the alleged offending.
Under a legal precedent called the
Moorov doctrine, at least two separate but similar crimes must be proved, if the only witness is the accuser.
This was allowed in Scots law under a legal device called the
Moorov Doctrine, which means prosecutors can prove a case where there is no direct corroborative evidence.
It becomes a stated case, and the "
Moorov Doctrine" remains is constant use, particularly by policewomen.
His lawyer said it was due to
Moorov doctrine but didn't explain what it meant.
The
Moorov Doctrine is still in use in Scots law today and has resulted in several convictions since 1930.
Prosecutors tried to use the
Moorov doctrine to establish a case - a legal mechanism which applies where two or more separate offences are closely connected in time and circumstances.
But Mrs Buchan claims the
Moorov doctrine used to convict suspects of sex abuse "is flawed".
As the allegations dated back such a long time and were separated by eight years, the prosecution relied on the
Moorov Doctrine.