Bail Flashcards
What is bail?
When a person is remanded in custody it means that they will be detained in a prison until a later date when a trial or sentencing hearing will take place. The majority of prisoners on remand have not been convicted of a criminal offence awaiting trial following a not guilty plea.
Rather than being remanded in custody a person may be granted bail.
Bail is the release of a defendant from custody, until his next appearance in court.
The granting of bail is in line with Article 5 European Convention on Human rights. - Rights to liberty and upholds the fundamental principle that every person is “innocent until proven guilty.
Who can bail be granted by?
Bail can be granted by the police under the Police and Criminal Evidence act , Criminal Justice and Public Order Act
and Criminal justice act.
Bail can also be granted by the courts under the Bail Act and the Legal Aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders act
How can the police grant bail
The police can grant bail in three situations
Under s37 of the Police and Criminal Evidence act 1984 - To a suspect released without charge on the condition that they will return to the police station on specific date in the future.
Under section 38 PACE- To a defendant who has been charged with an offence until their really administrative hearing in the magistrates court.
Under section 4 of the criminal justice act 2003 - Police can grant “street bail” for minor offences without the need to take the person to the police station
What are the types of conditional bail? Provide a case
Under the criminal justice and public order act conditions can be imposed on bail by the police and the courts. For example.
- Curfew
- Electronic tag
-Surrendering passport
- Reporting regularly to the police station
Case- DJ Dave Lee Travis- Former Radio DJ arrested as part of operation Yewtree and charged with sexual assault
Bail conditions- released on bail on the condition that he lived at his home address and did not contact any of the alleged victims
What are the police bail and issues relating to time?
PACE 1984 - Police officers cannot detain a suspect for more than 96 hours before they must release or charge them.
R v Hookway
A magistrate ruled that PACE means that the clock is ticking regardless of whether the police are actually questioning the suspect or not. Therefore after 96 hours officers can no longer question suspects and can only re arrest them if they have new evidence.
Police Act - This emergency legislation reversed the effect of R v Hookway which means that period on the bail do not count towards the total detention period.
Police and crime act- The act introduced a limit of 28 days on police bail which is aimed at rebalancing the police’s use of bail in the interest of fairness.
Police bail enables those under investigation to be released from custody, potentially subject to conditions while officers continue their enquiries. Under the new law it will still be possible for the police to secure an extension beyond the initial 28 day bail period where appropriate and necessary
How can the court grant bail?
S4 of the Bail act 1976. There is a presumption that everyone should be granted bail. Bail need no to be granted if there are substantial grounds that the defendant if released would:
- Fail to surrender to custody
- Commit an offence while on bail
- Interfere with witness or otherwise obstruct the course of justice.
Legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders Act introduced a new exception: Commit an offence against an “associated person” in a domestic violence case.
Schedule 9 of the Bail act 1976 - Factors to be taken into consideration by the courts when making the decision to grant bail:
- The nature and seriousness of the offence
- The character and past record, associations and community ties of the defendant
- The D’s record on surrendering to bail on previous occasions
- The strength of the evidence against the defendant
Section 90 of the LASPO Act 2012 - “No real prospect test”- the courts power to refuse bail is restricted where it appears that there is no real prospect that the defendant would receive a custodial sentence if convicted.
What are the restrictions on the granting of bail?
- s19 Criminal justice act - where a suspect has tested positive for class A drugs and the offence is connected with class A drugs
- s14 CJA- where the offence has been committed by someone who is already on bail at the time of the offence
- LASPO Act- where a person has previously served a custodial sentence for murder, manslaughter or rape and the current offence is murder, manslaughter or rape, the judge can only grant bail if it is of the opinion that there are no expectational circumstances
- s115 coroners and justice cat - where the offence is murder, bail may only be granted by a crown court judge.
What are the 3 cases in relation to bail?
Jonathan Vass- murdered his ex girlfriend while on bail for her rape
Gary Weddell- accused of killing him mother-in-law before shooting himself while on bail as he awaited trail for his wife’s murder.
Karan Mathews - child kidnap, false imprisonment, perverting course of justice case. The victim was defendants daughter. D was refused bail
On advantage is street bail.
Under s4 CJA One advantage of bail is street bail. Street bail is when the police have power to grant bail without suspect attending police station. This is an advantage because it allows police to grant bail without having to spend time on the arrest at the police station
Why is refused bail for terrorism an advantage?
Under the anti- terrorism crime and security act Bail is refused for suspects who have been arrested for terrorism. This is an advantage because it protects the publics rights and liberty and security
Why is conditional bail an advantage ?
Under s3 bail act Conditional bail is a option to allow the suspect to be released on bail but also to be controlled. This is an advantage because it ensures that the suspect has their liberty but are prevented from committing any further crimes
Why is street bail a disadvantage?
Under the criminal justice act Street bail is when the police have the power to grant bail without the suspect attending the police station. This is a disadvantage because it allow the suspect to potentially commit another crime.
Another disadvantage is that bail is refused for suspects arrested for murder and manslaughter.
s56 crime and disorder act. This us a disadvantage because it does not support the suspects right to a fair trail before being detained. This is unfair and does not support the rule of law.
Another disadvantage is conditional bail
Conditional bail is not always guaranteed to prevent crimes being committed on bail. For example in Gary Weddell. This is a disadvantage because the public are not always safe when the conditions are attached to suspects.
