In addition to the first instance trial business, High Court Judges require to conduct a number of different types of hearings. For example, prior to a trial being assigned, a Preliminary Hearing is held in a case to ascertain whether both sides are ready to go to trial. No witnesses or jurors are cited to attend this hearing. The majority of the miscellaneous business conducted in the High Court consists of adjourned diets for sentence. These may be cases where the accused has been convicted but the court wishes to obtain background reports before sentencing the accused. There may also be hearings in relation to Confiscation Orders, Breach of Community Payback Orders, applications for removal of disqualification from driving, applications for specification of documents or hearings in terms of Section 76 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, where the accused wishes to plead guilty by using an accelerated procedure.
The list contains the date and time of each hearing, the name of the accused and the reason for the hearing, along with the name of the judge hearing the case and the location.