History of Bail
Trying to put together a full, comprehensive description of the history of bail is a close to
impossible task. The history of bail goes hand in hand with the history of the modern
man-kind in general, and specifically the history of democracy. Terms as basic as “free
men” and “rights” have been established alongside the principals of bail, in medieval
Britain of the 13th century. The evolution of bail to the American modern law has been
indescribable.
First, some background is necessary. The British lands were ruled by the British king,
who could sentence any subject to any verdict, with no restrictions what so ever. The
regime was absolute monarchy off course, and no signs of democracy were in sight.
Thus until the year 1215, in-which the first version of a charter named the Magna Carta
was published. The Magna Carta was, in general, the first ever bill of rights destined to
undermine the king’s power in specific criteria. The Magna Carta promised the people
the right to good and fair laws. It has also stated that “No free man shall be taken,
imprisoned, disseised, outlawed, banished, or in any way destroyed, not will we proceed
against or prosecute him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and by the law of
the land.” Following the 1st version of the Magna Carta, a 2nd version was published in
1225, deducting the term “free man” from the wording, to make sure all people are
treated in the manner dictated by the Magna Carta. Based on the Magna Carta, a set of
laws and rules named the Statute of Westminster was published in 1295, acting as the
cornerstone to the foundation of the future British court system. The Statute of
Westminster was the first document offering bail as a way of securing a man’s
appearance in trial, without being unlawfully detained, yet it did not imply which crimes
are bailable, and which are not.
In 1679 the British system came up with the writ of the Habeas Corpus. This writ is
known to be the most efficient safeguard of the liberty of the subject. Habeas Corpus
denied the unlawful detainment of any man, and has granted any imprisoned individual
that feels he has been wronged by the judiciary system to petition a writ of the Habeas
Corpus in order to be re-trialed. The Habeas Corpus is also the first document to
determine which crimes are bailable, and which are not. The writ also prevented long
periods of detainment for those accused, thus expediently moving them into the court
system for trial.
The American bill of rights was issued in 1791 by a group named the Congress of the
Confederation and has quickly became the law of the land. Based on the Magna Carta
and the Habeas Corpus, ten amendments have been written. Ten of which the 8th
addressed the issue of freedom of man (as in Magna Carta), the right to speedy trial (as
in Habeas Corpus), and the right to non excessive bail (as in the Statute of
Westminster). “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines be imposed, nor
cruel and unusual punishment inflicted” states the 8th amendment, and remains the
cornerstone of Americans right to remain innocent until found guilty to this very day. The
right to petition a writ of the Habeas Corpus to the court when excessive bail is imposed,
or when unusual punishment is inflicted remains to this day, as well.
For any further inquiries, call Western Bail Bonds at 1-800-597-9883.
