In the spring of 1659, Margaret Gourlay, a resident of Stirling, found herself caught within the rigorous machinery of the Scottish justice system. Her name appears on an undated list of individuals compiled between 1658 and 1659, slated for arraignment before the justice courts during a period of heightened legal scrutiny. Although the records regarding her jurisdiction are ambiguous—being bound within the volumes of the south and west circuits while potentially belonging to the north—the gravity of the proceedings remained clear. On March 23, 1659, Margaret was brought before the court in Stirling to face charges of witchcraft.
During the trial, Margaret entered a formal plea of not guilty. Unlike many others who faced similar accusations during the mid-seventeenth century, the legal process in her case concluded with a definitive outcome. The records of case T/LA/1136 confirm that the court returned a verdict of not guilty, securing her acquittal. With this judgment, Margaret was released from the immediate pressures of the justice system, marking the end of her involvement in the formal proceedings of 1659.