5. Go to your bail hearing

Correctional officers will take you from the police station or the jail to the courthouse for your bail hearing. You will be held in a cell at the courthouse until the officers bring you into the courtroom.

At the bail hearing, unless it is a reverse onus bail hearing, the Crown must show why you shouldn’t be released from custody on the least strict type of release: an undertaking without conditions.  An undertaking without conditions lets you be released from custody as long as you promise to go to court when required.

What you have to do

You will not have a chance to speak to the Crown in bail court.  Your lawyer or duty counsel will present your bail plan to the court.

If you have a surety, they may be required to testify in court. You may also choose to testify about your bail plan. This involves swearing an oath. When you swear an oath, you promise to tell the truth, and answer all of the questions that your lawyer and the Crown ask.

Your lawyer and the Crown may ask your surety to:

• give evidence about their personal background, and their relationship to you
• explain your bail plan, and how they will participate in supervising you
• explain what they will do if you’re not following your conditions

What will be decided

At your bail hearing, the judge or justice of the peace will decide to:

• let you go back into the community and set the conditions of your release, or
• keep you in custody while you wait for the outcome of your case

You will only be kept in custody if the judge or justice of the peace thinks that:

• you may not go to court when required
• you may commit another offence, or the public wouldn’t be safe if you’re let out
• because of the circumstances of your offence, the public might feel that the system is not working if you were given bail

Bail conditions

If you’re allowed to leave on bail, you’ll likely have to follow specific bail conditions. These conditions are set by the court.

For example, you may:

• not be allowed to communicate with the complainant or alleged victim
• not be allowed to communicate with your co-accused
• not be allowed within a specific distance of a specific place, person, or persons
• need to report to bail program or a police station
• have to live at a specific address (this might be with your surety)
• have to stay at home during specific hours, usually overnight
• have to follow the rules of a house arrest