Pace International Law Review Volume 8 Issue 2 Spring 1996 Article 4 April 1996 Preventive Detention: A Comparison of Bail Refusal Practices in the United States, England, Canada and Other Common Law Nations Kurt X. Metzmeier Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr Recommended Citation Kurt X. Metzmeier, Preventive Detention: A Comparison of Bail Refusal Practices in the United States, England, Canada and Other Common Law Nations, 8 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 399 (1996) Available at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pilr/vol8/iss2/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace International Law Review by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. PREVENTIVE DETENTION: A COMPARISON OF BAIL REFUSAL PRACTICES IN THE UNITED STATES, ENGLAND, CANADA AND OTHER COMMON LAW NATIONS Kurt X. Metzmeiert I. INTRODUCTION With origins obscured in the mists of Anglo-Saxon history, bail as an institution still unites the criminal law systems of England, the United States, Canada and many nations of the former British empire. However, conscious cross-comparison by modern English-speaking legal reformers, rather than blind ad- herence to ancient precedent, has caused many similarities in the countries' legal practices. Examining each others' legal sys- tems, critical articles and treatises, and law reforms, reformers have carried on a debate on bail across national lines that has been written into the law of nations from Canada to New Zea- land. The United States, while not completely part of this dis- cussion, has both contributed to and benefitted from this debate.