In the summer of 1649, legal records from the burgh of Haddington document the arrest and subsequent trial of Margaret Russell. On the 8th of June, the formal proceedings against Margaret began, marking her entry into the formal judicial machinery of the Scottish witch trials. As a resident of Haddington, she was subject to the jurisdiction of the local courts during a period of heightened judicial activity regarding charges of maleficium and diabolical association.
The archival documentation, filed under case reference C/EGD/1319 and trial reference T/LA/1065, provides the administrative framework for these events. While the surviving records are primarily procedural, they confirm that Margaret was formally processed through the legal system of the time. The transition from her initial identification in early June to the trial recorded in the archival register underscores the systematic nature of the legal response to allegations brought against her within the Haddington community.