The court considered an application for judicial review of a Crown Court judge’s bail decision: ‘It seems to me that the right approach for this court must be to decide whether the decision of the Crown Court judge was one which falls within the bounds of what can be regarded as a reasonable decision. The court is a court of review but it is review of a decision of a circuit judge to whom Parliament has entrusted the grant of bail. True it is that this was, as it were, a first instance decision. In the case of a bail refused by a Magistrate there is a right of appeal to the Crown Court and the Crown Court judge’s decision is therefore one made on a first appeal. It may well be that this court would be the more reluctant to intervene, because one has not only the question of review but also the question of a second hearing and a decision made on appeal. But there is no good reason why the approach should be any less restrictive where the decision is made at first instance by the circuit judge. It could be said, on the facts of this case, that it was rather equivalent to an appeal in the sense that the Magistrates had granted bail and the judge was refusing it. It may well be that the principles should be the same whether it is strictly made on appeal or whether it is made following a decision of the Magistrates, whether adverse or favourable to the defendant in question.
I do not, myself, think it is necessarily particularly helpful to put glosses on the rationality test as set out under the label of Wednesbury irrationality. As I have said, the test must be: was this a decision which was in the bounds of what could be regarded by this court as reasonable? This court will not interfere unless persuaded that the decision falls outside those bounds.’
Judges:
Collins J
Citations:
[2005] EWHC 742 Admin
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Brookes, Regina (on the Application of) v Croydon Crown Court Admn 24-Feb-2006
Application for judicial review of revocation of bail and committal to custody. The defendant had attended the hearing and a previous one. The judge considered that he had failed to attend in other proceedings on two occasions, and revoked bail.
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 15 July 2022; Ref: scu.240389