In the spring of 1597, the city of Aberdeen became the site of a complex series of legal proceedings involving the Leyis family, whose connections to local accusations of witchcraft drew them deep into the judicial system. On March 22, 1597—a date recalibrated to reflect the New Year beginning on the 25th of March—Jonet Leyis appeared before the court alongside her father, John, and her two sisters. Their trial was not an isolated event, but rather the culmination of a larger cycle of litigation that had already resulted in the trials of Jonet’s mother and brother. Throughout the testimonies of other accused individuals, such as Johnnet Wischert and Thomas Leyis, Jonet was frequently named as an associate, firmly anchoring her within a network of individuals under intense scrutiny by the authorities.
The court’s verdict regarding Jonet and her kin revealed the nuanced nature of seventeenth-century legal proceedings, where the distinction between direct practice and social proximity was carefully weighed. While the family was formally absolved of the specific charge of practicing witchcraft, they were found "half guilty" of the act of associating with known witches—specifically, those family members previously convicted. As a result of this association, the magistrates decreed a sentence of banishment. For Jonet, the trial concluded not with execution, but with an enforced departure from Aberdeen, severing her ties to the community under the judicial decree of the time.
