Criminal Courts - pre-trial matters

Police Bail (these notes apply generally to persons 18 or over)
Police can impose conditions	Police conditions can include: to return to the police station after they have completed further enquires, or to appear at court at a later date. Police bail can be imposed either before or after charge (informing the suspect of the offence they allege he has committed).
Bail pending Crown Prosecution Service decision on the charge	The Criminal Justice Act 2003 has introduced changes in the charging of offenders. Where the custody officer considers a suspect should be charged or cautioned, and the suspect is a suitable candidate for bail, the suspect will generally be granted bail pending a decision by the Crown Prosecution Service on whether he should be charged or cautioned or not further proceeded against. If the offender is not suitable for bail a Duty Inspector may authorise a charge in an emergency.
"Street bail"	Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 2003 allows police officers discretion to release an arrested person on bail without taking that person to a police station as was previously required under PACE. The arrested person is required to attend at a specified station at a later time/date and there is a further power of arrest if the suspect subsequently fails to comply with this one and only condition that the police officer can impose.
Magistrates
Persons appearing before magistrates can be bailed, overruling the police bail	Magistrates can bail a person if the case is not ready to proceed, or can remand them in custody (keep them locked up). The hearing for bail is inquisitorial and magistrates will ask questions to obtain sufficient information to make their decision.
Bail Act 1968; Criminal Justice Act 1988	There is a "Presumption for Bail" meaning the police and courts must release a prisoner on bail unless there are reasons for not doing so [the alternative would be for a suspect to be kept in custody unless there were good reasons for granting bail]
Presumption for Bail	The starting point for most bail decisions is that the defendant has a right to unconditional bail.
The presumption does not apply:	In certain extradition proceedings, following committal for sentence or for breach of a Crown Court order, after conviction, unless the proceedings are adjourned for pre-sentence enquiries or reports on appeal against conviction or sentence. Where the defendant has tested positive for heroin, cocaine or crack cocaine and is unwilling to undergo an assessment. In this situation, the defendant cannot be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that there is no significant risk of an offence being committed on bail.
Offences for which bail and exception	Bail may only be granted in exceptional circumstances where a defendant is charged with or convicted of an offence of: murder, or attempted murder, or manslaughter, or rape, or attempted rape, and the defendant has a previous convicted for any such offence or of culpable homicide. Under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 a "presumption against bail" exists for defendants charged with an imprisonable offence who are brought back to court having failed to appear or have committed certain offences while out on bail. This does not mean a prisoner will not get bail for these offences, only the presumption is that he will not.
If bail given - reasons must be given	Bail can also be refused but reasons must be given.
Conditions may be added to the defendant’s bail	Conditions can be imposed only if necessary: to ensure attendance at court, to prevent offending on bail, to prevent interference with witnesses or obstruction of the course of justice, for their own protection (or, if a youth, their own welfare or in their own interests), to ensure they are available for enquiries or reports, to ensure they attend an appointment with their legal representative before the next hearing. "Necessary" means a real not fanciful risk of one of the above occurring.
No right to apply for bail	Defendants do not have an unfettered right to make repeated bail applications generally only one "full" bail application can be made.
Refusal of bail
There must be substantial grounds suspect will:	fail to surrender or commit further offences or interfere with witnesses or obstruct justice.
Magistrates must consider:	nature and seriousness of offence the likely sentence the strength of the prosecution evidence past record of defendant ties with the community previous record on bail any other relevant factors
Reasons	Because of the "Presumption for bail" Magistrates must give reasons for their decision to refuse.
Sureties	Prisoner can be asked to produce a surety, who is a person who will either promise to ensure his attendance - e.g. at court - or who is willing to pay a some of money should the prisoner abscond and not appear.
Bail conditions tighter for offences carrying a life sentence	From 1 January 2007 the bail provisions in Sec 14 and 15 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 take effect. They only apply to offences that carry a life sentence and which are committed after that date. A defendant 18 and over may not be granted bail unless the court is satisfied that he will not commit an offence while on bail, if he committed the alleged offence whilst already on bail. Also, he will not get bail if he has failed to appear in court on a previous occasions. But for those under 18 the rules are softer, so failing to appear becomes failing to appear and not doing so as soon as possible after. This only applies to bail from the court, not police bail.
Appeal against bail decisions
Appeal by defence	Defendant can appeal to the Crown Court or to the High Court.
Appeal by prosecution (for imprisonable offence - no longer needs to be for offence carrying 5 years or over)	The prosecution has a right of appeal against the grant of bail in certain circumstances. The prosecutor can serve oral notice of an intention to appeal to the Crown Court against the decision to grant bail. Where such a notice is served the magistrates must remand the defendant in custody. The prosecutor then has two hours in which to serve a written notice of appeal. If a written notice is not served the defendant will be bailed on the terms originally decided by the magistrates. If the written notice is served, the defendant will be remanded in custody and an expedited bail hearing will be arranged at the Crown Court.
Tagging as a condition of bail	There was at some stage doubt as to whether tagging could be required as a condition of bail. The Bail Act 1976 was amended to make it clear when juveniles (under 17 year olds, for these purposes) may be made subject to such a requirement. However, it is now clear that tagging can be imposed as a condition of bail without specific legislative provision. Circular here.
Matznetter v Austria (1969 ECHR	Regarding a remand in custody based on the fear of further offending. The Court of Human Rights stated that this could not be justified if the previous convictions were not comparable, either in nature or seriousness, with the charges preferred against the accused. Courts correctly applying the 1976 Bail Act would have come to the same conclusion as the Court of Human Rights. This case shows how much of our legislation is in tune with the Convention.
Adult Court Bench book here December 2006
Bail for persons under 18 years of age	The Youth Court does not sit every day and so adult courts are sometimes faced with a young person who has been arrested. The normal practice is to decide on bail and then remand the offender to the next sitting of the Youth Court. There are different rules of bail for those under 18, and for young persons the magistrates effectively may only remand to the care of the local authority - who often hand the child straight back to the parents.