Legal Definitions - hour of cause

In Scots law, the term hour of cause refers to the specific time officially designated for a legal trial or hearing to begin. It is the scheduled start time when the court expects all participants—including judges, legal counsel, parties involved, and any witnesses—to be present and prepared to commence the proceedings.

• Imagine a criminal case in Glasgow where a person is accused of assault. The court issues a formal summons stating that the trial's hour of cause is 9:00 AM on a particular Monday. This means that at precisely 9:00 AM, the judge, the prosecution, the defense team, the accused, and the jury (if applicable) are expected to be in their places, ready for the trial to formally open and for evidence to begin being presented.

• Consider a civil dispute between two businesses over a breach of contract. The Sheriff Court schedules a preliminary hearing to discuss procedural matters. The court order specifies the hour of cause as 10:30 AM on a Tuesday. Both companies' legal representatives must ensure they are present and prepared to address the court at that exact time, ready to present their arguments or respond to questions from the bench.

• Suppose a complex family law case involving child custody was initially set with an hour of cause of 11:00 AM on a Thursday. However, due to an unexpected technical issue with the court's video conferencing system, the clerk's office sends out an urgent notification rescheduling the hearing. The new notification would state the revised hour of cause, perhaps 2:00 PM the same day or a different date entirely, indicating the new official start time for the proceedings.