In the spring of 1662, the legal authorities in Haddington directed their attention toward Patrick Meikle, a married man whose history with the local judiciary stretched back over a decade. Records indicate that Patrick had first been proceeded against for alleged witchcraft as early as 1649, though the ultimate resolution of that initial encounter remains lost to the historical archive. His return to official notice in 1662 occurred during a period of heightened scrutiny, as he was identified among a substantial group of individuals denounced by a youth named James Welch.
Although Welch was ultimately deemed too young to stand trial and was consequently imprisoned, his testimony carried significant weight within the judicial proceedings of the time. The confessions and denunciations provided by Welch were taken seriously by the authorities, becoming the catalyst for the investigations into Patrick and his wife, both of whom were accused of witchcraft. These records place Patrick at the center of a tense and expanding legal inquiry, marking a second significant intersection with the witchcraft statutes for him and his family within the Haddington jurisdiction.