TLI4801
Assignment 02
DUE:17 September 2024
Unique No:658416
, 1. Prosecutorial Bail for D
Prosecutorial bail is usually applied for by the legal counsel of the accused, and not
the prosecution as it would seem in the title. In most of the jurisdiction in South
Africa, bail is usually solicited by the defense in terms of a Section 60 of the Criminal
Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Therefore, with this regard, given the fact that D faces the
charge of murder and the fact that was witnessed stabbing the deceased, the
prosecution will contend that D is likely to flee from the court or act as a danger to
the society thus might affect the outcome on whether he will be either granted or
denied bail. Any application for bail under such circumstances would have to
address these concerns and demonstrate grounds as to why D should still be given
bail despite how serious the charges preferred against him or her may be (Maharaj,
2010).
Reference: Maharaj, A. 2010. Confident Criminal Litigation. Chapter 1: Arrest and
Bail.
2. Amending a Plea of Guilty
Discussion: Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, stipulates that a plea
of guilty has to be taken with a valid defense as to the charge. In the event that Mr.
Danny Cane finds out that his client failed to give a valid defense in respect to the
plea, he will be under obligation to rectify the plea. This generally involve
withdrawing the plea by the court and entering not guilty, where the court has not
already accepted since such an error typically brings up the plea to not a valid plea.
Here, Mr. Cane should take the initiative of acting fast so that the plea could be
corrected adequately to cater to the interests of his clients.
Reference: Maharaj, A. (2010). Confident Criminal Litigation. Chapter 1: The Trial.
3. The impact of credibility of witnesses on section 174 Discharge
Discussion: Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, provides for discharge
if the proofs of the prosecution cannot justify the conviction. The importance of the
credibility of witnesses takes significance in this aspect. The application for a
discharge under Section 174 will succeed if the evidence of the prosecution's
witnesses is discredited or shown to be contradictory. The court takes into account
the quality and credibility of the evidence in determining whether it is strong enough
to stand up to the charge that the accused faces (Maharaj, 2010).
Reference: Maharaj, A. 2010. Confident Criminal Litigation. Chapter 1: The Trial.
4. The Implications of the Cautionary Rule for Consultation with Defence
Witnesses
