In July 1597, Jonnett Finlasoun, a married woman residing in the Fife burgh of Burntisland, found herself ensnared in the legal machinery of the Scottish witch trials. As the records detail in case C/EGD/835, the local bailies sought to instigate a formal prosecution against Jonnett, attempting to initiate a new trial and bring forward charges of witchcraft. Despite these efforts to secure a conviction, the institutional momentum required to sustain such proceedings faltered, and the records indicate a failure to establish a successful legal case against her.
The trajectory of the proceedings reveals the procedural complexities of the era, as Jonnett was compelled to take caution in the books of adjournal to ensure her appearance at a future circuit court. However, despite this requirement, subsequent examination of the circuit court records yielded no evidence of further action or prosecution. Ultimately, the trial concluded with a verdict of not guilty. Following the failure of the bailies to bring forward substantiated charges, Jonnett was cleared of the accusations brought against her, marking a rare instance where the legal apparatus failed to produce a conviction amidst the wider tensions of the period.