BD
FREE CONSULTATION
BAIL HEARINGS AND REVIEWS

Bail Hearings and Bail Reviews

Bail is the first contested hearing in most criminal cases and it decides the conditions you will live under for the next year or more. Whether you go home matters for your job, your housing, your family and your ability to help prepare your own defence. It is not a formality and it should never be treated as one.

THE STAGE

What a bail hearing decides

The court is deciding three things: whether you will attend court, whether you are a risk to the public, and whether releasing you would undermine confidence in the administration of justice.

Those three grounds are set out in section 515 of the Criminal Code, and the Crown ordinarily carries the burden of showing why detention is justified. In certain circumstances that reverses, and the accused must show why release is appropriate. Knowing which situation you are in changes the entire preparation.

What actually persuades a court is rarely eloquence. It is a plan. Who will supervise, where you will live, what money is pledged, what conditions address the specific concern the Crown has raised, and whether the person offering to supervise you understands what they are taking on.

Sureties

A surety is a person who pledges money and undertakes to supervise you. They will be examined, sometimes closely, on what they know about the allegations, what they are prepared to do, and whether they would call police if you breached. Sureties who arrive unprepared sink otherwise winnable hearings. They are prepared properly here, in advance, so that they understand the obligation before they take the stand.

Bail reviews in the Superior Court

Where release has been refused, a review lies to the Superior Court. It is not a rehearing. It requires either a material change in circumstances or an error in the original decision, and it requires a fresh and better plan. Where the terms imposed are workable in theory but impossible in practice, a variation is frequently available on consent instead.

IN PRACTICE

What bail work involves

Contested show cause hearings
Where the Crown seeks detention, including reverse onus situations under section 515(6).
Release plans
Residence, employment, treatment, curfews and reporting, structured to answer the specific ground the Crown is running on.
Surety preparation
Sureties briefed and prepared for examination before they take the stand.
Superior Court bail reviews
Where release has been refused, or where an error or material change justifies revisiting it.
Variations
Changing conditions that prevent work, housing or contact with family, frequently on consent.
Detention reviews and delay
Where a matter has taken too long, detention itself becomes reviewable.
WHY IT MATTERS AFTERWARD

Bail shapes everything that comes after it

The conditions imposed at the outset are not a temporary inconvenience. They set the terms of your life for the duration of the case, and they generate the most common new charges people face.

•
A person in custody cannot work, cannot support a family, and cannot meaningfully assist in reviewing their own disclosure.
•
Unworkable conditions produce breaches, and a breach conviction damages the substantive file far more than the breach sentence itself.
•
A no contact condition affecting a co parent needs a carve out for parenting time, and that is far easier to negotiate at the outset than to fix afterward.
•
Time in pre trial custody counts at sentencing, but the collateral damage of losing a job or a tenancy does not come back.
•
A properly drafted plan of release also signals to the Crown, early, that the file is being taken seriously.
QUESTIONS WE ARE ASKED

Frequently asked questions

How quickly does a bail hearing happen?
Ordinarily within twenty four hours of arrest, or as soon after that as the court can accommodate it. That is why the call needs to happen immediately rather than the following week.
Who can be a surety?
Usually a family member, partner or close friend with no record, stable circumstances and a genuine ability to supervise. What matters most is that they understand the obligation and can answer questions about it credibly.
Do sureties have to put up money?
A pledge is normally required but is often not deposited. What the pledge represents is the seriousness of the undertaking, and the amount is assessed against their actual means.
What happens if bail is refused?
A review lies to the Superior Court. It requires a better plan, a material change or an identified error in the first decision, and it should be brought promptly.
Can my conditions be changed later?
Yes, and frequently on consent. Conditions that prevent employment, housing or contact with children are the most commonly varied.
Are you available for an arrest overnight or on a weekend?
Yes. Bail does not wait for business hours and neither does this office.
SPEAK WITH COUNSEL

Tell me what you have been charged with.

The first consultation is free and confidential. You will get a direct assessment of the charge, the process ahead, and what it will cost. Flat fees, payment plans and Legal Aid certificates are all accepted.

647.721.5150REQUEST A CONSULTATION
Available evenings and weekends. Reachable at any hour for an arrest in progress.

Request a Free Confidential Consultation

Speak directly with Kashif Alam. Your information remains strictly confidential under solicitor-client privilege.