In the autumn of 1635, the legal records of Caithness formalised the case of Jonnet Foulis, a married woman residing in the parish of May. On September 30th, her name was entered into the judicial register under case reference C/LA/3320, marking the beginning of a process that would subject her to the scrutiny of the seventeenth-century Scottish legal system. Like many others caught within the machinery of the witch trials during this period, Jonnet found her domestic life and social standing irrevocably altered once the machinery of the state and local kirk authorities turned their attention toward her.
The subsequent proceedings against Jonnet were documented under trial reference T/LA/2110. While the specific nature of the accusations levied against her remains held within the austere administrative language of the period, the trial represents a significant historical intersection of community suspicion and the exercise of judicial power in the north of Scotland. By examining the records of Jonnet, historians gain insight into the vulnerability of individuals within the early modern social framework, illustrating how formalised legal processes were employed to address perceived disruptions to the moral and spiritual order of the community.