When the court fixes conditions of release on bail, what matters must it consider, and what kind of condition may it not impose?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In the practice file we read the application for release on bail and the court's ruling that lists each condition, and the records the conditions turn on: papers showing the nature of the crime and the facts of the offence, the strength of the evidence, the accused's prior convictions, character, circumstances and assets, and any compensation or other post-offence matters concerning the victim.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as a duty addressed to the court alone: in fixing the conditions, the court must consider the nature of the crime and the facts of the offence, the evidentiary force of the proof, the accused's prior convictions, character, circumstances and assets, and matters relating to compensation for the victim and other circumstances after the act.
Another reading turns on the limit in the second paragraph: the court may not set a condition that the accused's financial capacity or level of assets cannot perform, yet the provision does not say how that capacity is measured or what follows where the accused's means later change.
Your judgment
If the accused's assets fell between arrest and the ruling, what in the record could show which conditions still lie within the accused's capacity to perform?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add or remove a matter the court must consider, or to change the limit on conditions beyond the accused's means, or if a court decision explains how a court assesses financial capacity.