In the spring of 1662, the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials reached into the rural community of Arry, situated within the parish of Auldearn in Nairn. It was there that Janet Smith, a married woman, became the subject of a formal judicial inquiry. Her case, documented under the reference C/EGD/459, was initiated on 14 April 1662, placing her within a period of intense ecclesiastical and civil scrutiny regarding perceived maleficium and diabolical influence in the north of Scotland.
Following the initial record of her case in April, Janet was subjected to the formal process of the Scottish criminal justice system. Her trial, indexed as T/LA/1848, represents the culmination of these proceedings. While the specific nature of the accusations brought against her remains obscured by the limitations of the surviving legal register, the existence of these records confirms her movement through the High Court or local commission apparatus that governed such charges during the Restoration era.