Since Trident Ploughshares was launched in 1998 we have been taken to court many times for our nuclear disarmament actions. We have appeared in courts of all levels in both England and Scotland. 

There are many good legal arguments why we are right to take the action that we do but we have also included moral, religious, economic and personal reasons in our statements to the courts. Whether we are found guilty or not we believe that putting the evidence about nuclear weapons before the courts is a continuation of our peaceful nonviolent direct action. 

You can see some inspiring examples of defences used in the courts here in our archives.

There have also been a number of high profile actions that have reached higher courts.

In February 1999 Rosie James and Rachel Wenham disarmed equipment on the conning tower of HMS Vengeance. After three trials all charges against them were dropped. See more about it here

In 1999 the Trident Three; Ellen Moxley, Ulla Roder and Angie Zelter disarmed the research barge Maytime which resulted in them being remanded to prison for 4 months until a jury trial at Greenock Sheriff Court. Read all about it and see the defences they used in court here. After Sheriff Gimblett acquitted them the Lord Advocate made a Reference to the High Court which was heard in 2000 with a ruling issued in 2001. See lots of documents, transcripts and articles here.

The book ‘Trident on Trial – the case for people’s disarmament’ published by Luath also contains many of the legal arguments used in the original Greenock case as well as during the Lord Advocate’s Reference.

In November 2000 Susan van der Hijden and Martin Newell disarmed a nuclear convoy truck as the Jubilee Ploughshares Action. See here

There have also been hugely successful blockades of Faslane naval base involving hundreds of arrests and resulting prosecutions through the lower Scottish courts leading to appeals to the High Court of Justiciary.