The defendant appealed against his sentence of 28 days imprisonment for contempt of court. He was late to court and warned that if he was late on the following day it would be treated as contempt. He was so late, and in his absence the judge made arrangements for his immediate detention pending a decision later that day.
Held: Saying that a Bail Act offence may be dealt with procedurally in a similar manner to a contempt of court, is not to say that it should be punished on the same basis. It gives a speedy alternative procedure, not an equation of the seriousness of the offence.
Smith LJ said: ‘the effect of section 6(5) is not to convert an offence under the Bail Act into a contempt of court, but simply to provide a speedy and effective alternative method of dealing with such an offence. Therefore it follows that the judge was not entitled to deal with the matter as a contempt of court and he erred in doing so.’
Judges:
Swintin Thomas LJ, Tucker, Penry-Davey JJ
Citations:
Times 10-Feb-1999, [1999] EWCA Crim 215
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Schiavo v Anderton QBD 1986
‘Surrender to custody’ means by section 2(2) in this context ‘surrendering himself into the custody of the court . . at the time and place for the time being appointed for him to do so.’ The failure to do that is by section 6(1) an offence. The . .
Cited – Regina v Reader CACD 1987
The offence of absconding whilst on bail has never constituted a contempt of court. Even so it is punishable as if it were contempt. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.85379