In August 1590, the High Court of Justiciary addressed the case of William Leslie of Crechie, a man of significant standing as a laird within the Sherifdom of Aberdeen. The legal proceedings against him were rooted in charges brought earlier that summer, on 12 July 1590, which implicated both William and his wife in the act of consulting with witches. Such an accusation carried profound weight during this period, and the gravity of the charges dictated that the case be referred to the next justice aire held within their home region of Aberdeen.
The subsequent legal proceedings were marked by the extraordinary social influence exerted by the defendant. Unlike many individuals brought before the courts on similar charges, William was supported by a formidable assembly of prolocutors consisting of earls and lords. This display of aristocratic solidarity highlights the complex social dynamics at play in late sixteenth-century Scottish judicial processes, where the status of the accused often dictated the nature of the defence. Following the High Court’s order on 19 August 1590, the case moved toward the regional justice system, placing William at the intersection of religious regulation and the entrenched power structures of the Scottish nobility.