Describe how matters relating to the granting of bail to a person awaiting trial are decided. [18 marks]

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Describe how matters relating to the granting of bail to a person awaiting trial are decided. [18]    Under s.4 Bail Act 1976, there is a presumption that D is entitled to remain at liberty until the next stage in the process. In accordance with the idea that D is innocent until proven guilty, it is assumed that D will be granted bail and will appear at the next stage.   Both the police and the courts can grant bail. The most common type of bail is unconditional, whereby D is released on their own recognisance under the belief that they will surrender at the next stage in the process at the Magistrates Court. If D fails to appear at the Magistrates Court, the police can arrest D with a bench warrant handed down from the Magistrates Court. This type of bail means that the good behaviour of D is trusted upon. This tends to mostly happen because the majority of crimes are summary offences and are unlikely to ultimately carry a custodial sentence, and so there is no justification to remand D and infringe their liberty.   Under s.38
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Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJPOA), the custody officer can also release D on police bail pending further enquiries. This means that D must surrender at the next stage which is to appear at the police station at a specified time in the future.   If the custody officer refuses to grant bail and instead remands D, they must appear at the Magistrates Court as soon as is practicable (within 24 hours) for a pre-trial hearing. This acts as a check to ensure that the police detention was ...

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