The Workings and Significance of Bail Hearings

When the police arrest someone for a criminal offence, that person may be held in custody until they’re brought before court to decide if they should be released into the community. This process is called a “bail hearing”.

The law requires that the police bring a person before the court within 24 hours. Once they’re before the court, a bail hearing may commence right away, or it may be adjourned if requested (so that a lawyer has time to prepare materials).

Bail is an extremely important part of the criminal process. Treat it with as much seriousness as the trial itself. Why do I say the bail hearing is so important? This is something you want to get right on the first shot. If you’re not successful at your bail hearing, you might have to wait several weeks or months until a trial.

The Constitution guarantees your right “not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause”. What that means is the court cannot deny bail unless there’s a really good reason for them to do so. A person charged with a crime will typically be released if:

That being said, the court may find just cause to deny bail. That’s likely to happen if, for example, you have a history of failing to attend court or obeying court orders, maybe if you present a flight risk because of the seriousness of the sentence upon conviction, also if you’ve been convicted of a similar crime in the past, especially if it’s in the recent past, you may not get bail, or if there’s a record of violence, particulalrly with the same complainant.

If you do get bail, a surety is a family or friend of the accused who agrees to put up some collateral in support of that individual’s release. The surety also agrees to supervise the accused while they’re out on bail, ensuring that they follow the conditions of release and attend court as required. A surety will frequently take the stand to examine the relationship with the accused and make certain that they understand the surety’s duties. In some cases, multiple sureties might be required to satisfy the court that an individual will be sufficiently supervised while out on bail.

Generally speaking, a suitable surety will be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant, not have a criminal record or any outstanding charges, not already be acting as a surety for another accused, be at least 21 years old, and be employed. The court imposes certain conditions upon you. It really depends on the circumstances of the arrest and what you’ve been charged with. You have the law, and the law is what the law says, but you also have fact, and depending on the facts, the law will be applied differently in different circumstances.

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