Bail - The Law and your Rights
Bail in general terms
There is a fundamental right to bail under the Bail Act 1976. The right exists alongside other very important legal principles and in simple terms it comes from the fact that it is wrong to lock up innocent people and that a person is innocent until proved guilty. Even a person who is obviously guilty has a right to bail because his or her guilt has not yet been proved in a court. The right to bail does not exist for someone charged with murder, attempted murder, rape or attempted rape if that person has previously been convicted of one of those offences. Also, the court does not have to grant bail if the person is already on bail when a new offence has been committed. This does not stop our lawyers trying to argue for bail in these cases. It makes the job harder for us but we have a lot of success in securing bail for people in these situations.
Bail from the police station
Once you have been charged with an offence you must be released on bail unless the custody officer believes
There is doubt about your name and address
- You will fail to attend court
- You will interfere with witnesses
- You will commit further offences
- It is necessary for your own welfare and protection
The police can attach conditions to bail such as living at a fixed address, report to a local police station, curfew at night, avoiding contact with named people, or preventing you going to certain places. If you fail to attend court without a good cause you commit a separate offence under the Bail Act 1976. If you break any condition of your bail you can be arrested and brought in custody to the next Magistrates’ Court. The Magistrates’ Court could take away your freedom and could remand you into custody.
Bail from the Court
If the police have imposed bail conditions you can apply to the Magistrates' Court to remove any or all of the conditions. If the police have detained you in custody they must bring you to the next Magistrates' Court where a decision will be made about bail whilst your case continues. Magistrates’ Courts normally sit every weekday. There are often courts on a Saturday or Bank Holiday morning purely to deal with people who have not been released by the police. The court will not sit on Sundays or certain bank holidays (e.g. Christmas Day and Good Friday). The court may grant you bail with or without conditions. The same sort of conditions can be given by the court as mentioned earlier of residence, reporting to the police station, not contacting certain people and so on. The court can only remand you in custody if they have real belief that you will fail to come back to court, commit further offences, interfere with justice or witnesses, or for your own safety.
Because there is a right to bail, the hearing is one in which the prosecutor applies for you to be kept in custody.
The court will consider the Charge, the evidence, your background including your job and local and family ties. It will also have a copy of any convictions recorded against you, whether you have previously failed to come to court, and whether you are on bail for any other matters. It is then for your representative to argue that the grounds for keeping you locked up do not apply. This is a fairly technical argument and knowledge of the Bail Act 1976 and Human Rights legislation is important. All of our lawyers are specialist and able to argue these points well. If you are refused bail at the first hearing we can apply again for you at the second hearing or at any further hearing where there has been a change in your circumstances.
If the magistrates refuse to grant bail at any hearing you can make a further application to a Judge in the Crown Court. These hearings are technical and they must be supported by a written application which needs to be sent to the Crown Court and the prosecutor. We are used to making these applications and will do so for you if required.
If the magistrates grant bail in serious cases the prosecution can appeal to a Crown Court judge, this happens rarely but whilst the appeal is pending at the Crown Court you will be kept in custody. If the prosecution appeal is successful you will remain in custody.
If you are granted bail by the police or any court you will be given a bail sheet setting out the conditions if any and where and when to attend court. If you break the bail conditions, or fail to turn up on time on the right day then you will be arrested and may then be kept in custody. It is therefore vital to comply with your responsibilities as set out in the bail sheet. Failing to turn up without good cause is a criminal offence which is punishable with imprisonment.
Custody Time Limits
If you are kept in custody then certain time limits apply. If the limit expire the court must release you on bail unless the prosecution has extended the time limit beforehand.
The limits are 56 days for Magistrates' Court trials, 70 days for committal to the Crown Court, and 112 days from committal to the Crown Court trial.
[ 01-01-2007 ]