In the early summer of 1629, the small community of West Linton in Peeblesshire became the site of a significant legal action that drew Marie Johnestoun into the machinery of the Scottish judicial system. On June 11, 1629, Marie was formally processed under case number C/EGD/653, appearing not as an isolated figure, but as one of twenty-seven individuals named collectively in the proceedings. This mass indictment suggests a period of heightened scrutiny within the parish, where the identities and actions of these residents were suddenly tethered to the gravest accusations of the era.
Following her inclusion in this group, Marie was brought to trial under the reference T/JO/559. While the specific evidentiary record regarding the testimonies brought against her—or the final verdict rendered by the court—has not survived in the extant documentation, her experience remains a documented element of the broader 1563–1736 witch trials in Scotland. Her case serves as a sober reminder of the scope of these proceedings, where communal suspicion and local legal processes intersected to fundamentally alter the lives of those caught within them.