Criminal Litigation- burden of proof- evidential and legal burden between prosecution and defence, bail and conditions for grant of bail, opposition of bail
Objectives
Syllabus Area 3: Bail and Remands:
1. Adjournments and remands;
2. Time limits applicable to remands in custody and
applications for their extension (detailed knowledge of specific time limits not
required);
3. The presumption in favour of bail and the occasions when it does not apply; the
statutory grounds for withholding bail, and the matters that have to be considered by
the court;
4. Bail conditions that can be applied and under what circumstances;
5. The procedure for making a bail application, the practice and procedure on further
application to the Crown Court following a decision to refuse bail in the magistrates’
court;
6. Grounds upon which the prosecution can appeal to the Crown Court against a
decision to grant bail;
7. Dealing with defendants who have failed to surrender to bail or breached their bail
conditions.
Prep for class questions
Exercise 1
Jack has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) on his girlfriend
(this is an either-way offence, which means that it can be tried in the magistrates’ court or in
the Crown Court). The police refuse him bail at the police station, so he appears in custody
at the local magistrates’ court the next day for his first appearance.
You go down to the cells to advise Jack.
Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980, s. 17 and sch. 1, (h) section 47 (assault occasioning bodily
harm);
a. Explain to Jack how the court will approach his bail application today in terms of the
procedure and the law (disregard part (d) for the purposes of this question).
Procedure: BCP D7.67-68, bullet 5/Law: BCP D7.11-12, bullet 3
Pros to provide court with all information in their possession relevant to bail (BCP
D7.68, bullet 5)
Pros summarises facts (if has not done so already)
Any previous convictions handed to bench
Pros sets out objections with reference to the Bail Act 1976
Rebuttable presumption in favour of bail.(BCP D7.6, bullet 3)
As ABH is triable on indictment and imprisonable, bail need not be granted if there
are “substantial grounds” for believing D will:
- Fail to surrender to custody;
- Commit an offence while on bail;
- Interfere with witnesses or obstruct the course of justice (BCP D7.12, bullet 3).
NB. If no real prospect of custodial sentence, bail cannot be withheld on any of the
above three grounds (BCP D7.15, bullet 3)
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