Bail Notes

Bail

Adjournments & remands

Case Management & Adjournments

• ‘unnecessary hearings should be avoided by dealing with as many aspects of the case as possible at the same time’.

• The plea should therefore be taken at the first hearing; if this does not happen (or if the offence is triable only on indictment), the court must find out what the plea is likely to be. If a plea is not taken, the obligation to take it applies to the next hearing (the point being that a plea should be taken as soon as possible).

• This guidance is clearly aimed at discouraging applications for adjournments by the defence, though it is submitted that defence advocates may have to take a robust approach in resisting demands for a plea to be entered where, for example, the defence have insufficient information about the nature of the prosecution case.

• Applications for adjournments by the prosecution are also discouraged.

• ‘there is a high public interest in trials taking place on the date set for trial, and trials should not be adjourned unless there is a good and compelling reason to do so

• Although there are of course instances where the interests of justice require the grant of an adjournment, this should be a course of last rather than first resort

Statutory provisions on power to adjourn, Power to adjourn, contained in MCA 1980 ss10(1) and 18(4) [[see below for what you actually need to take from these provisions]]

• MCA 1980, s10:

(1) A magistrates’ court may at any time (whether before or after beginning to try an information) adjourn the trial, and may do so, when composed of a single justice.

(2) The court may when adjourning either fix the time and place at which the trial is to be resumed, or, unless it remands the accused, leave the time and place to be determined later by the court.

(4) On adjourning the trial of an information the court may remand the accused and, where the accused is 18+,SHALL do so [[remand]] if the offence is triable either way and—

(a) on the occasion on which the accused first appeared, or was brought, before the court to answer to the information he was in custody or, having been released on bail, surrendered to the custody of the court; or

OR (b)the accused has been remanded at any time in the course of proceedings on the information;

and, where the court remands the accused, the time fixed for the resumption of the trial shall be that at which he is required to appear or be brought before the court in pursuance of the remand or would be required to be brought before the court but for section 128(3A) below.

• MCA 1980, s18:

(1) Sections 19 to 23 below shall have effect where a person who has attained the age of 18 years appears or is brought before a magistrates’ court on an information charging him with an offence triable either way and—

(a) he indicates under section 17A above that (if the offence were to proceed to trial) he would plead not guilty, or

(b) his representative indicates under section 17B above that (if the offence were to proceed to trial) he would plead not guilty.

(4) A magistrates’ court proceeding under sections 19 to 23 below may adjourn the proceedings at any time, and on doing so on any occasion when the accused is present may remand the accused, and shall remand him if—

(a) on the occasion on which he first appeared, or was brought, before the court to answer to the information he was in custody or, having been released on bail, surrendered to the custody of the court; or

(b) he has been remanded at any time in the course of proceedings on the information;

and where the court remands the accused, the time fixed for the resumption of the proceedings shall be that at which he is required to appear or be brought before the court in pursuance of the remand or would be required to be brought before the court but for section 128(3A) below.

Remanding the accused on adjournments

• References in MCA 1980 ss10 & 18 to “remanding” an accused, mean either:

  • (a) remanding him in custody (i.e. committing him to custody to be brought before the court at the end of the period of remand or at such earlier time as the court may require); OR

  • (b) remanding him on bail in accordance with BA 1976 (i.e. directing him to appear before the court at the end of the period of the remand or, if bail is made continuous, directing him to appear at every time to which the proceedings may be adjourned).

• S18 MCA governs adjournments until mode of trial has been determined

• S10 MCA applies:

  • (a) to appearances for summary offences up until conviction;

  • and (b) to appearances, up until conviction, for either-way offences from after mode of trial has been determined in favour of summary trial

• S10(4) and s18(4) provide: (in almost identical terms) that: on adjourning proceedings for an either-way offences, the court MUST remand the accused unless:

  • (a) he first appeared in answer to a summons or requisition (as opposed to being brought before the court in custody or appearing in answer to police bail);

  • AND (b) he has not been remanded at an earlier hearing in proceedings.

• It follows that the magistrates may, at their discretion, adjourn WITHOUT REMANDING the accused where:

  • (a) at all appearances for SUMMARY OFFENCES UP TO CONVICTION;

  • and (b) at appearances for EITHER-WAY offences up to either a determination for trial on indictment OR a summary conviction

    • PROVIDED: (a) the accused initially appeared in answer to a summons or requisition AND (b) has not been remanded previously

• So there is NO discretion to adjourn without remanding re:

  • Indictable-only offences

  • Either-way offences where prosecution was commenced by way of charge

  • Either-way offences where accused has previously been remanded

• Where a case is simply adjourned, there is no need to fix the date for the next hearing at the time of adjourning;

• CF, if there is a remand the adjournment date must be fixed forthwith, and is the date to which the accused is remanded.

• An accused who is not remanded, and...

Buy the full version of these notes or essay plans and more in our BPTC Criminal Litigation Notes.