BAIL AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE
Introduction
The granting of bail is guided by the constitution and the criminal procedure code. Bail is granted to arrested persons either at the police station or after one has been charged in a court of law. An arrested person or accused is presumed innocent till proven guilty thus his/her freedom of movement should not unnecessarily be curtailed. Therefore issuance of bail is aimed at ensuring that the accused person attends his trial when required to do so.
In my analysis of bail, I have considered it alongside access to justice. Having in mind that justice must not only be done but seen to be done. This topic is indeed of great interest to me given that I have previously had an opportunity (during my judicial …show more content…
It behoves me to delve into the foundation of bail in the independence constitution vis a vis the 2010 constitution; not forgetting the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 72(5) of the repealed constitution provided that a person arrested and taken to court facing a charge of criminal offence and not tried within reasonable time shall, unless he is charged with an offence punishable by death, be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears at a later date for trial.
However, before the constitutional amendment act no. 20 of 1987 which deprived the courts of the power to release accused persons charged with offences allied to the death penalty, it allowed bail for all offences. It is before this amendment was introduced that the High Court of Kenya was tasked with determining whether the criminal procedure code flew directly in the face of article 75(2) of the constitution, as it was …show more content…
For example in Baltimore, Maryland, an 18-month pilot project where law students provided legal counsel at bail setting for 4,000 indigent or low-income defendants charged with nonviolent offenses showed positive benefits. The outcomes of this project revealed that representation by legal counsel led to 2.5 times more releases on recognizance when compared to defendants without representation. In a paper by Justice Policy Institute of America it is admitted that the use of money as bail has led to setting of high bail amounts that most people are unable to afford. Consequently access to justice is not guaranteed since they do not have contact with counsels and even if they had getting proper details to assist them is a challenge. Just like the USA Kenya should adopt the electronic monitoring system which is very efficient
Basically, the problem is no different from the Kenyan situation where we also experience excessive bail
Introduction
The granting of bail is guided by the constitution and the criminal procedure code. Bail is granted to arrested persons either at the police station or after one has been charged in a court of law. An arrested person or accused is presumed innocent till proven guilty thus his/her freedom of movement should not unnecessarily be curtailed. Therefore issuance of bail is aimed at ensuring that the accused person attends his trial when required to do so.
In my analysis of bail, I have considered it alongside access to justice. Having in mind that justice must not only be done but seen to be done. This topic is indeed of great interest to me given that I have previously had an opportunity (during my judicial …show more content…
It behoves me to delve into the foundation of bail in the independence constitution vis a vis the 2010 constitution; not forgetting the Criminal Procedure Code. Section 72(5) of the repealed constitution provided that a person arrested and taken to court facing a charge of criminal offence and not tried within reasonable time shall, unless he is charged with an offence punishable by death, be released either unconditionally or upon reasonable conditions, including in particular such conditions as are reasonably necessary to ensure that he appears at a later date for trial.
However, before the constitutional amendment act no. 20 of 1987 which deprived the courts of the power to release accused persons charged with offences allied to the death penalty, it allowed bail for all offences. It is before this amendment was introduced that the High Court of Kenya was tasked with determining whether the criminal procedure code flew directly in the face of article 75(2) of the constitution, as it was …show more content…
For example in Baltimore, Maryland, an 18-month pilot project where law students provided legal counsel at bail setting for 4,000 indigent or low-income defendants charged with nonviolent offenses showed positive benefits. The outcomes of this project revealed that representation by legal counsel led to 2.5 times more releases on recognizance when compared to defendants without representation. In a paper by Justice Policy Institute of America it is admitted that the use of money as bail has led to setting of high bail amounts that most people are unable to afford. Consequently access to justice is not guaranteed since they do not have contact with counsels and even if they had getting proper details to assist them is a challenge. Just like the USA Kenya should adopt the electronic monitoring system which is very efficient
Basically, the problem is no different from the Kenyan situation where we also experience excessive bail