We have extensive experience and a good track record in dealing with criminal matters and bail applications in various courts, including Commercial Crimes Court, District Court, Regional Court and the High Court.

We have assisted many clients facing specific criminal charges ranging from common assault to the more serious offences. We provide legal representation in respect of bail applications (both court hours and after hours applications) as well as trial proceedings and can therefore provide expert legal assistance from the time that the accused is arrested to the finalization of the trial and/ or appeal.

The consequences of a criminal charge can be very serious and life altering and it is therefore imperative that you obtain expert legal representation of a high standard, which is what we offer.

Our law states that an accused ie a person facing a criminal charge is presumed to be innocent until his/her guilt has been properly proved in a court of law.

If anyone is facing a criminal charge, it must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that :

The accused person committed an unlawful act

The accused person had the required capacity to act

The accused person had a guilty or blameworthy state of mind at the time of commission of the crime.

When charged with a crime an accused person has the following rights:

The right to remain silent.

The right to legal representation immediately upon arrest.

The right to be brought to a court before the expiry of 48 hours since your arrest or detention (excluding weekends and public holidays)

The right to proper food and medical care.

If you are a minor (under 18 years), you have the right to be detained separately from adults and the right to be assisted by your parents or guardian.

Depending on the nature of the offence, when an individual is arrested our first priority, is to apply for bail for our clients. The granting of bail, can sometimes be a complex issue especially when the offence forms part of a schedule 5 or 6 offence of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977. Generally, an accused person should be granted bail unless the release will not be in the best interests of society.

Courts generally consider the following factors before granting bail :

Any previous convictions of the accused

The seriousness of the offence

The strength of the states case

The possibility that the accused person will interfere with witnesses or abscond or commit another offence while out on bail

The Court in considering whether bail should be granted in a particular matter, weighs the right to freedom of an accused person against the right of the community to be safe from crime and criminals. Courts can in some instances impose certain bail conditions that have to be adhered to, in conjunction with the granting of bail.

For detailed up to date legal advice on your specific situation and to set up an appointment, contact us.

An example of an accused’s constitutional right to bail dealt with by our offices and the outcome. - John (married, 1 minor child – 4 years old , employed as a construction worker for a Building Company, 1 previous conviction , 1 pending case ), John was charged with a serious criminal offence. Johns family approached our offices to represent him in the matter but his first concern was bail. At the time , he had already been detained for 2 days as bail was opposed on the basis that it formed part of Schedule 5 & 6 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and a formal bail application had to be brought before the Court. - We realized the predicament that John was in and we were aware of the fact that the onus rested on John to bring factors to the court to convince the court that he be released on bail, pending the outcome of the matter. We were aware of all the factors that were against John and we worked quickly by requisitioning him to Court and by arguing the formal bail application. John was released on bail pending the finalization of the hearing. We subsequently finalized his matter and he was satisfied with our display of knowledge and integrity in dealing with his matter.