Defendants have been accidentally set free on bail instead of being held in prison due to courtroom blunders dubbed a “series of unfortunate errors”.
The incidents were revealed in a memo to officials at magistrates courts acrossEngland and Wales, in a bid to stamp out the problem.
“There has been a series of unfortunate errors relating to bail appeals which haveresulted in defendants being released when they should have been remanded incustody”, the memo from May sets out.
When defendants are granted bail in the magistrates court, prosecutors have theoption of mounting an urgent appeal.
Defendants are supposed to be held in custody for two hours while the appeal is filed, and then detained for up to 48 hours further so that any challenge against the bail decision can be heard by a Crown Court judge.
But custody officers have ended up setting defendants free early thanks tobreakdowns in communications in the magistrates court.
The news comes after the new Labour government started deliberately setting freeconvicted prisoners after they had served 40 per cent of their term in jail, inan emergency measures designed to ease chronic prison overcrowding.
The criminal justice system is in crisis thanks to crumbling buildings, years ofdelays to trials, and plunging numbers of lawyers and judges. In January, theStandard also reported how growing numbers of guilty criminals are exploitingthe courts problems to avoid justice, refusing to admit their crimes in thehope the case will ultimately collapse.
In April, the High Court heard details of a case at Barkingside magistrates court,where defendant Darykie Ramos Molina was accused of intentional strangulation,assault occasioning actual bodily harm, making threats to kill, and usingviolence to secure entry to a premise.
He was granted bail by magistrates and the prosecutor’s announcement of anintended appeal was not heard by the dock officers as they led the defendantback to the cells.
Mr Molina was then set free by guards over the lunchtime break, thwarting effortsby the prosecutor to serve the notice of appeal.
High Court judges ultimately ruled that the appeal against bail being granted couldnot legally take place at all in the Crown Court once the initial blunder hadbeen made.
The memo to magistrates court legal advisers, obtained thanks to a Freedom ofInformation request, set out: “Where a prosecutor gives oral notice to appeal abail decision in court, the justices or judge must remand the defendant incustody.
“The legal adviser or court associate must ensure that the parties, and especiallythe defendant and escort officers, are told that the defendant is remanded incustody while the appeal notice is drawn up and served on the defendant.”
Officials have also been told to make sure a Crown Court hearing is set for the bailappeal to take place within 48 hours.
“If the Crown court does not hear the case in 48 hours, the defendant may bereleased without any further consideration of their remand status, which willpresent clear risks to the public and those affected by them being on bailwithout proper consideration of their remand status.”
Mr Molina was ultimately sentenced to 18 months in prison in March this year.
Blunders in court are under the microscope after the Standard revealed that traincompanies had been unlawfully prosecuting suspected fare evaders for severalyears, leading to the Chief Magistrate ruling that as many as 74,000convictions may have to be overturned.
The Ministry of Justice said four incident of defendants being accidentally setfree on bail have been officially recorded by court staff in the last twoyears.
A HMCTS spokesperson said: “It is vital that bail procedures are always correctlyfollowed. While mistakes such as these are extremely rare, we have issuedrevised guidance to staff to address them.”
