Tracey Hart

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Charge:	Contempt of Court
Sentence:	1 year
Years Imprisoned:	0.02
Year Crime:	2014
Year Convicted:	2014
Year Cleared:	2016
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	United Kingdom
County or Region of Crime:	Scotland
City of Crime:	Arbroath
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Tracey Hart, aka Tracey Tough, was wrongly convicted of contempt of court in July 2014 for violating a court order allowing her former husband -- who spent 11 years in prison for murder -- access to their children. In 2007 Hart married a man who told her he had spent 11 years in prison for murder, related to an incident in which he said he threw a single punch that killed the victim. They had two children. In 2009 Hart fled with her two children when she learned the murder had been premeditated and she feared for herself and her children. Her husband obtained court orders for supervised visitation at a family centre. Hart, 41, and a minister with the Church of Scotland, refused to comply. In October 2015 Hart was sentenced in the Forfar Sheriff Court by Sheriff Gregor Murray to one year in prison for a “flagrant, premeditated and sustained” breach of a court order. After eight days in custody she was released on bond pending the outcome of her appeal. In September 2016 the Court of Session quashed Hart's conviction in ruling that “significant and relevant matters” had not been consided by the trial court, and the sentence was “incompetent” and beyond the maximum available for the court to impose. After her conviction was quashed Hart told reporters she intends to launch a campaign petitioning the Scottish Government to overhaul the way family issues are dealt with in the court, to prevent someone else from going through her experience. Hart said: “I was in an impossible situation. Caught between my wish to obey the court and protecting my children, I ended up in jail. I cannot help feeling aggrieved that my ex-husband used the legal system to persecute me – something needs to change. It’s besmirched my reputation because I’ve been unable to explain things to parishioners, some of whom believe I must have done something wrong when all I did was protect my children.”"
Conviction Caused By:
Innocence Proved By:	"In September 2016 the Court of Session quashed Hart's conviction in ruling that “significant and relevant matters” had not been consided by the trial court, and the sentence was “incompetent” and beyond the maximum available for the court to impose."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	42
Age When Released:	42
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"Kirk minister to campaign on family issues after “incompetent” prison sentence quashed, By Stewart Alexander (Staff), The Courier, September 4 2016"
Information Location 1:	https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/angus-mearns/278612/kirk-minister-to-campaign-on-family-issues-after-appeal-judges-quash-incompetent-prison-sentence/
Information Source 2:	"Church of Scotland minister jailed for breaching court order, by Rob McLaren (Staff), The Courier, October 10 2015"
Information Location 2:	https://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-mearns/242370/church-of-scotland-minister-jailed-for-breaching-court-order/
Information Source 3:	"Petition by Tracey Tough, [2015] CSIH 78 (EXTRA DIVISION, INNER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION, Oct. 29, 2015) (Granting order barring publication of "the names, addresses and schools of the petitioner’s children," and other details related to the case.)"
Information Location 3:	https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/search-judgments/judgment?id=d04ef5a6-8980-69d2-b500-ff0000d74aa7
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Tracey Hart

Charge:

Contempt of Court

Sentence:

1 year

Years Imprisoned:

0.02

Year Crime:

2014

Year Convicted:

2014

Year Cleared:

2016

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

United Kingdom

County or Region of Crime:

Scotland

City of Crime:

Arbroath

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Innocence Proved By:

"In September 2016 the Court of Session quashed Hart's conviction in ruling that “significant and relevant matters” had not been consided by the trial court, and the sentence was “incompetent” and beyond the maximum available for the court to impose."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

42

Age When Released:

42

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"Kirk minister to campaign on family issues after “incompetent” prison sentence quashed, By Stewart Alexander (Staff), The Courier, September 4 2016"

Information Location 1:

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/angus-mearns/278612/kirk-minister-to-campaign-on-family-issues-after-appeal-judges-quash-incompetent-prison-sentence/

Information Source 2:

"Church of Scotland minister jailed for breaching court order, by Rob McLaren (Staff), The Courier, October 10 2015"

Information Location 2:

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/angus-mearns/242370/church-of-scotland-minister-jailed-for-breaching-court-order/

Information Source 3:

"Petition by Tracey Tough, [2015] CSIH 78 (EXTRA DIVISION, INNER HOUSE, COURT OF SESSION, Oct. 29, 2015) (Granting order barring publication of "the names, addresses and schools of the petitioner’s children," and other details related to the case.)"

Information Location 3:

https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/search-judgments/judgment?id=d04ef5a6-8980-69d2-b500-ff0000d74aa7

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