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Bail, allocation, plea and appeals — SQE1 Criminal question

A worked single-best-answer question on bail, allocation, plea and appeals, with why each wrong option is wrong — the way SQE1 traps candidates.

Bail, allocation, plea and appeals

Mia, aged 24, was charged with burglary of a dwelling. At her first appearance before the magistrates' court her solicitor applied for bail, but the court refused it on the ground that there were substantial grounds for believing she would fail to surrender. The case was adjourned for a week. At the next hearing her solicitor wants to apply for bail again, repeating the arguments used before and adding one new argument.

Which of the following best describes Mia's right to apply for bail at the next hearing?

  1. AMia may not apply again unless there has been a change in circumstances since the first refusal.
  2. BMia cannot apply again to the magistrates; her only remedy is an appeal to the Crown Court.
  3. CMia may apply again, but only on the new argument, because the court need not hear arguments it has already heard.
  4. DMia may apply again and may use any argument of fact or law, whether or not it was advanced at the first hearing.
  5. EMia may apply again only if her solicitor obtains a certificate of full argument.
Show answer and reasoning
D is the best answer. At the first hearing after the one at which the court refused bail, the defendant may support an application with any argument as to fact or law, whether or not advanced previously (Bail Act 1976, Sch 1, Part IIA, para 2). Only at subsequent hearings may the court decline to hear arguments it has heard before (para 3).

Rule: At the first hearing after bail is refused, the defendant may use any argument of fact or law; at later hearings the court need not hear arguments it has heard before.

  • A The need for new arguments applies only at hearings after the second one; at the next hearing any argument may be used. (right rule, wrong facts)
  • B Mia may renew her application to the magistrates; an appeal to the Crown Court is an additional, not exclusive, route. (wrong rule)
  • C That limitation applies at subsequent hearings, not at the first hearing after the refusal. (right rule, wrong facts)
  • E A certificate of full argument relates to an appeal to the Crown Court, not to a renewed application to the magistrates. (wrong rule)

Source: Bail Act 1976, Sch 1, Part IIA, paras 1-3

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