If you are charged with an indictable offence, a bail application may be necessary as police may keep you in custody (remand) pending the outcome of your matter. This is to ensure your attendance at Court, to make sure you don’t commit any further offences and/or to protect the community.
You must be brought before a bail justice or the Magistrates Court within 24 hours of being charged. Depending on your charges, there are a number of different factors which will determine whether you are likely to get bail including:
- The type of offence you have been charged with
- Your prior convictions
- Previous compliance with bail (if any)
- Whether you are likely to appear at Court if released
- The level of risk you pose to the community
An accused person can apply for bail themselves before a Bail Justice or Court when they are first remanded. However, these applications are often not successful as accused persons don’t often understand how to properly present their application.
It is therefore imperative that accused persons engage an expert criminal law Solicitor to make the application on their behalf. Accused persons don’t get unlimited chances at bail, so any application made to the Court must be thoroughly prepared by a criminal law expert.
If the Court decides to grant bail, they will usually apply conditions to that bail including the requirement to appear at Court on a future date, requirement to live at a particular address and regular reporting to a police station. Depending on your level of risk, the Court can also apply other conditions such as a curfew, non-association conditions, a requirement to attend psychologist or drug treatment and/or a surety (payment of money to the Court).
If you are refused bail in the Magistrates Court, you can make a further Application in the Supreme Court.
Melinda has made hundreds of applications for bail and is an expert in providing advice on your prospects for getting bail, as well as appearing and fighting for bail on your behalf. An application for bail requires meticulous preparation and a comprehensive knowledge of the legal arguments to support a grant of bail.
Contact Us to get expert advice today.
Glossary of Terms:
Summons: Means that police may not have charged you after interviewing you, but have decided to charge you at a later date. The summons will either be hand delivered or sent by mail and requires you to attend Court on a nominated date contained in the notice.
Bail: Where the police have charged you but decide to release you into the community. You will be required to sign a document to promise to attend Court on a later date and are often required to comply with conditions on the bail document (such as living at a particular address).
Remand: Where the police decide to keep you in custody after charging you because they consider that the charges are too serious, that you won’t show up to Court and/or that you are a risk of committing further offences if released into the community.
New Facts and Circumstances: If you have previously applied for and been refused bail, you must demonstrate new facts and circumstances before you are able to make another application for bail. Discuss this with Melinda, but examples may include: having a rehab facility become available for drug treatment or a significant delay caused by the prosecution.