Dumas Mehar Law
Areas of Practice
Bail Hearings
EXPERIENCED BAIL LAWYER IN TORONTO AVAILABLE 24/7
If you or someone you know has been arrested and taken into custody, you need the help of an experienced criminal lawyer who can help secure your release as soon as possible. We are available to assist you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for bail hearings across the Greater Toronto Area and the province of Ontario.
Bail Hearing
When a person is charged with a criminal offence, they may be released directly by the police on a Promise to Appear or an Undertaking. In other circumstances however, such as when the alleged offence is of a more serious nature, the accused will be held in custody and brought before a Justice of the Peace for a "show cause" or bail hearing.
The purpose of the bail hearing is to determine whether the accused person is to be granted "judicial interim release", or in other words, whether the accused can be released on bail pending trial or the final resolution of their case.
Typically, the prosecutor has the burden to establish that the accused should not be granted bail. Two fundamental principles governing all bail decisions in Canada are that all accused persons have the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, and have the right to not be denied reasonable bail without just cause. Accordingly, the detention of an accused person is only justified on one or more of the following grounds:
(a) Detention is necessary to ensure attendance in court;
(b) Detention is necessary for the protection or safety of the public;
(c) Detention is necessary to maintain confidence in the administration of justice.
In certain cases however, such as when the accused is charged with breaching the conditions of a prior release order, the onus at the bail hearing is reversed, and the accused has the burden to prove why he or should should be released.
Bail Review
If an accused person is ordered to be detained by the presiding justice of the peace at conclusion of the bail hearing, he may then, at any time before trial, apply to a judge for a review of that order. The judge will then have to determine whether it is appropriate to exercise his or her power of review.
A review of the detention order will only be conducted by a judge in three situations: (1) where there is admissible new evidence if that evidence shows a material and relevant change in the circumstances of the case; (2) where the impugned decision contains an error or law; (3) where the decision is clearly inappropriate.
