Solemn procedure – Time bar. High Court of Justiciary: In an appeal by the Crown in a case in which the respondent was charged on indictment with a sexual offence, the court held that having determined that it was in the interests of justice that the trial diet required to be adjourned it was not open to the sheriff to determine that it was not in the interests of justice to extend the 12-month time bar to enable a new trial to take place. The court also made observations with a view to encouraging a different approach to first diets and one more in keeping with their essential purpose of determining any preliminary pleas or issues.