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Appendix 1: Sample Discussion Guide for Interviews with Criminal Justice Practitioners 105
[Introductions and project information sheet]
Pre-reform: the extent of the problem
How serious was the problem of adjournment and delay in the High Court prior to the reforms?
At what stage(s) did difficulties commonly crop up?
Was it better/worse on circuit?
In your experience, what caused adjournments?
Crown role?
Defence role?
Court role?
Was there a serious problem with guilty pleas occurring on the day of the trial?
To what extent have the reforms changed/improved matters?
Preliminary hearings? Are these working effectively? Are they resulting in guilty pleas/reducing trial diet adjournments? If so, to what extent can this be attributed to Du Plooy?
View of judge's role at preliminary hearing? How pro-active in case-management do you think judges can/should be?
Any differences between the different High Court locations? Experience of Aberdeen cf. say Edinburgh?
Fixed dates for trials? Is this working? Or is it leading to an increase in downtime? Balance between fixed and floating business? Do floating trials fill the gaps?
Time limits? (110-140 days) Resulting in fewer applications for time bar extensions?
Agreement of evidence? Is this occurring? Can/should judges attempt to enforce it?
Legal Aid changes? What is the impact of these?
Any other difficulties/improvements that have occurred as a result of the reforms?
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