A judge of the Milford District Court lowered the bail in the case of Jose Saeteros accusing of stabbing a man with a broken beer bottle on Christmas Eve. Bail in all Massachusetts criminal cases is set at the arraignment date. The bail in this case was lowered from that set by the clerk magistrate. The report on Saeteros' case was made by Brian Benson of the Milford Daily News.
The issue of bail can be revisited at any point during the case. In order to have the bail amount readdressed, a Milford criminal lawyer must present evidence of a substantial change in circumstances to warrant the court changing the bail amount.
As a Massachusetts criminal attorney, often bail can be readdressed if the Commonwealth fails to provide discovery in a timely manner. Other issues such as delay in the prosecution of the case caused by the Commonwealth can be a basis to readdress bail, such as when a motion or trial is continued at the request of the Commonwealth. Additionally, bail can be changed when new evidence surfaces that cast doubt on the strength of the Commonwealth's case that was not available at the arraignment date.
In the case of Saeteros, the initial bail was set by a magistrate of the court. When an individual is brought to court, a judge is not bound by the bail amount set by the magistrate and makes an independent determination of what bail is fair to ensure the defendant appearance in court. In some cases, a defendant can ask the court to reconsider the bail set by the court, either by taking a bail appeal to superior court or asking the judge to readdress bail.
