Which document's provisions limited the sheriff's discretion regarding bail offenses?

The correct answer is the Magna Carta. This historic document, signed in 1215, is foundational in establishing the principle that everyone, including the king, is subject to the law. One of its key provisions laid the groundwork for future legal rights, including the rights of individuals in relation to detention and bail.

Specifically, the Magna Carta introduced the concept of due process and limited arbitrary imprisonment. It asserted that no free person should be imprisoned except by the lawful judgment of their peers or by the law of the land. This principle inherently restricts a sheriff's discretion to impose bail and aligns judicial processes with established legal standards, thereby influencing the development of later legal statutes regarding bail.

Other documents listed, such as the Statute of Westminster 1275, the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, and the Petition of Right, also played significant roles in shaping legal rights related to detention and bail, but the Magna Carta distinctly set the stage for those developments by formalizing the principles of lawful judgment and protection against arbitrary arrest.