In 1705, the coastal burgh of Pittenweem in Fife became the setting for a significant legal proceeding involving Thomas Broun and six others. The group was charged with causing the persistent torment of Patrick Morton, the sixteen-year-old son of a local smith. The case drew intense administrative scrutiny, as town officials sought a commission for trial by invoking the high-profile precedent of the "Bargarran’s daughter" case from the west of Scotland. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Privy Council intervened by appointing Her Majesty’s Advocate, Sir James Stewart, to lead the prosecution, further decreeing that the costs of the trial would be met directly by the royal treasury.
The legal process unfolded under the strict supervision of the state, with the Privy Council mandating that the trial be conducted locally under the direction of the Lord Advocate. Within the judicial framework of the time, the proceedings against Thomas concluded with a confession recorded on the official court record. This documentation serves as the final insight into his involvement in the events that had so thoroughly gripped the Pittenweem community during that turbulent year.