2. Bail during trial

2. Bail during trial

Principles

As provided in section 9D of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, a defendant has been granted bail before their trial begins, they can generally expect that the bail will continue throughout the trial. However, the judge might have valid reasons to order otherwise. These reasons might include a high risk that the accused might abscond due to the case going poorly for their defence or a real danger that he may interfere with witnesses or jurors.

Furthermore, there is no fixed rule that bail cannot be renewed once the judge begins his final summary of the case. Each situation is evaluated based on its own circumstances, and the judge considers the risks involved at different stages of the trial.

Procedures

Once the trial has started, whether bail is granted during short breaks or overnight is up to the discretion of the trial judge or magistrate.

Usually, in practice, at the end of each trial date or stage, the judge would extend the defendant’s bail on the same terms.