Biological male appears in Scottish court as both 'Alan' and 'Alannah' on the same day to face charges

A biological male has appeared before a Scottish court as both a man and a woman on the same day in what is considered to be the first case of its kind.

According to The Scottish Sun, the fifty-year-old committed two public order offenses while identifying as a man, Alan Morgan, and two while identifying as a woman, Alannah Morgan.

The individual was addressed as Alannah Morgan throughout the appearance at Dundee Sheriff Court and was sentenced to three months on a Restriction of Liberty Order for the four separate offenses. 

The offenses committed while identifying as a woman, which took place in February and April last year, include acting in a threatening and abusive manner by striking a floor and screaming, as well as being in possession of a knife and shouting, swearing, and uttering threats towards another person, reports The Scottish Sun. 

Concerning the incident in April, Morgan admitted to throwing slices of pizza indiscriminately and publicly urinating, the latter of which being an offense rarely associated with women.

More threatening and abusive behavior was recorded in March of this year, in the form of throwing a skateboard, kicking rubbish bins, as well as shouting and swearing in the back of a police vehicle. Morgan was identifying as a man at this time.

Morgan also admitted to striking the cell door, spitting, and exposing his buttocks and genitals.

According to Reduxx, Morgan’s solicitor argued that the flashing incident was “not a sexual act” but “a demonstration” during an argument about gender.

Morgan was sentenced to a three-month restriction of liberty order despite the judge acknowledging that the accused met “the custodial threshold.” Morgan’s solicitor, Jane Caird, had asked that a prison term be avoided as the prospect of going to prison caused her client extreme distress.

News outlets reporting on the case switched between both male and female pronouns, depending on how Morgan was identifying at the time of the crimes, causing people to take to social media to comment on the absurdity of the case.

Others found the defense plea of being distress at the prospect of going to prison unusual, with one Twitter user astutely pointing out that the thought of a prison term was not enough to prevent Morgan from committing the crimes in the first place.

Scotland is in the midst of a very heated debate surrounding the issue of gender self-identification. Proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act include removing the requirement for an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria in order to change legal sex, reducing the amount of time lived in the chosen gender from two years to just three months, and lowering the minimum age from 18 to 16.