Process of bail and how to reclaim bail money

Dec 04, 2022 News

By Renay Sambach

Kaieteur News – Have an upcoming court matter? Here are a few tips on the process of bail, and how you can reclaim your bail money.

The Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts

What is bail? Bail is a cash bond for a person to be temporarily released from custody pending trial. Bail can be granted at a police station or the court. In this article, we will examine the process of bail and reclaiming bail money in the Magistrate’s Court.

It should be noted that not all criminal offences are bailable and not everyone that appears in court for bailable offences is placed on bail.

Bail is often granted at the Magistrate’s discretion and it is sometimes granted with conditions attached to it based on the request of the prosecutor.

Being charged

Before the matter reaches court, there’s a process at the police station to prepare the matter and send it before a Magistrate.

If you or someone you know has been charged by the police for a criminal offence, either the police will release you on $10,000, your own self-bail and you will be asked to sign a recognizance, or you will be placed on $10,000 cash bail and asked to sign the recognizance.

The recognizance will inform you that you were charged and you will also be notified of what date and which court your matter will be called.

If the person who was released on self-bail fails to appear in court on the date the matter is called, the Magistrate can issue an arrest warrant and he/she will automatically owe the state $10,000.

However, if the persons who paid cash bail fail to appear in court, their money will be forfeited and the Magistrate can also issue an arrest warrant.

Bailable offences

Some offences are disposed of in the Magistrate’s Court. However, for the more serious offences like murder, rape, and treason, a preliminary inquiry (PI) or paper committal will be done in the Magistrate’s Court to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence against the defendant for him/ her to be committed to stand trial in the High Court.

Some bailable offences are: larceny charges such as ‘simple larceny,’ ‘larceny from the person,’ ‘break and enter and larceny;’ assault charges; threatening and abusive language. In some instances, bail is granted for serious offences like sexual assault charges, rape, carnal knowledge, and even causing death by dangerous driving.

Appearing in court

The first hearing of a matter is when most persons or their attorney tries to secure bail.

After the charge is read to the defendant, the defendant is then asked to enter a plea either of guilty or not guilty. With a not guilty plea, the matter will have to go to trial for the court to decide, based on the evidence that is presented to the court, whether or not the defendant is guilty of the offence charged.

This is the opportunity to make a bail application to the court. After making a bail application, if the court sees the defendant as a flight risk or the defendant is known to the police from previously committing other offences, bail may be refused, while others may be placed on a reasonable amount or substantial amount.

When bail is granted by a Magistrate, the bail is then paid by the person posting bail for that defendant at the Supreme Court Registry and a receipt will then be handed to the person posting the bail. This receipt must be kept until the end of the matter.

In some instances, when bail is granted to a defendant, conditions may be attached. Some conditions attached to bail are a defendant may be required to lodge his/her passport, report at an identified police station on an instructed day, keep-the-peace-bond or stay 100 feet from the virtual complaint.

Other persons are released on self-bail upon his/her own recognizance. This means that the defendant will not be required to lodge any cash or property, but he/she must sign a recognizance by which he/she promises to come back to court for trial.

Renewal of bail

If for some reason or the other, your bail application was refused on your first court appearance, you can always renew it during the trial.

If a bail application is denied by a Magistrate, the defendant or his/her attorney could make a further bail application to a Judge of the High Court. Judges in the High Court can grant the defendant bail and also reduce the amount of bail that was fixed by a Magistrate.

Additionally, at the end of the PI in the Magistrates’ Court for serious matters, if the defendant is committed to stand trial in the High Court, the defendant or his/her attorney will be required to renew their bail application and the Magistrate will decide if the same amount of bail will be applied.

In some instances, defendants go to court and plead guilty. With a guilty plea, the defendant will be sentenced, fined, given community service, or a stern warning based on the nature of the offence. In some instances, the Magistrate takes into account the defendant’s early plea and a lesser sentence may be given.

While in some cases, both parties tell the court that they have come to an understanding (in most instances compensation) and that they no longer wish to proceed with the matter. The matter will then be dismissed if the court is satisfied.

Bailor

A bailor is a person whose name is on the bail receipt for a defendant. Most persons wait until the end of the matter to reclaim bail money, but the bail money can be withdrawn at any time during the matter.

If a bailor wishes to withdraw his/her money before the matter is completed, the defendant can find an alternate bailor. However, with no alternate bailor and the bailor informs the court that he/she wishes to withdraw their money, the defendant will automatically be arrested and placed in custody.

Forfeiture of bail and consequences

Most persons get carried away thinking that after securing bail they can evade the court by not attending a trial or if the defendant does not fulfill the conditions attached to the bail. However, by doing so, there are consequences for the defendant and the bailor.

If the defendant fails to attend court, the bail will be forfeited and the bailor will lose his/her money, while an arrest warrant can be issued for the defendant and when apprehended, the defendant may not be eligible for bail anymore and will be remanded to prison pending the outcome of the matter.

Fine and bail

What most people don’t know is that bail is different from a fine. The court fines you if you plead guilty to an offence or at the end of the trial if the court finds you guilty.

Bail money is recoverable but a fine also known as ‘mulct’ is an order by the Magistrate for the defendant to pay a given amount of cash as a punishment for a crime or other offences and is not recoverable.

Reclaiming bail money

At the various courts, either at the end of the matter or during, bailors who wish to reclaim their bail money can visit the court office.

While many persons aren’t aware that they can reclaim their bail money, others have difficulties reclaiming theirs for many reasons.

The most common issues are most persons misplacing the bail receipt, which is very important in reclaiming bail money, or the bail receipt being soiled or torn beyond recognition.

However, all hope is not lost if that happens. Persons can visit a Justice of Peace (JP). A JP has the same power as a Magistrate to issue warrants for the apprehension and commitment for the safe custody of persons charged with indictable offences and can also help in the reclaiming of bail money if the receipt is damaged or lost.

(To share any useful information, you can contact me via email @[email protected])