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| Bail Hearing & Being a Surety |
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| When charged with a criminal offence, the first opportunity of release from jail is a bail hearing. This article explains the bail process and what is happening in court. The surety is the person who comes to court to bail out the accused.
The bail hearing is conducted in a courtroom. It is usually presided over by a Justice of the Peace. The Crown Attorney will read in the charge and a brief summary of the allegations against the Accused. The court is concerned about three issues. Firstly, the court must be satisfied that the Accused will return to court. Secondly, the court must be satisfied that if released, the Accused will not break the law. Thirdly, the court is concerned about the strength of the case against the accused person. Only then, will the Accused person be released on a surety bond for a specified amount of money, usually without the actual payment of cash. If the person breaches the terms of the release, the court can collect the bail money from the surety. |
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Surety (Bail Person)
A Surety is someone who will come to the court and convince the court that they will supervise and control the Accused. An amount of money is pledged as a guarantee that the Accused, if released, will return to court and keep out of trouble. Usually, but not always, the Surety will have to take the witness stand and testify. The court is interested in knowing the following information about the Surety:
Name, address, occupation, income, relationship to the Accused, duration of relationship to the Accused, length of time of employment, immigration status, criminal record, type and amount of assets, familiarity with the criminal record of the Accused, where the Surety wants the Accused to reside, knowledge of the Accused's life, (residence, occupation, family, respect for the Surety) and whether the Surety has ever posted bail for the Accused in the past.
Usually, there are terms concerning the release of the Accused person. The court will be interested in what the Surety knows about the Accused. The court must be satisfied that the Surety can supervise and control the Accused. The court needs information which can prove that the Accused will respect and obey the Surety. This is accepted, if in the past, the Accused has sought the advice and obeyed the advice of the Surety. The court will be interested in knowing how long the Surety has known the Accused because the greater the length of time of the relationship, the more probable that the Surety knows the Accused sufficiently well to control him or her. The Crown Attorney will want to know when and about what the Accused has disobeyed the Surety. The Crown Attorney wants to assist the court in determining whether the Surety can truly supervise and control the Accused. If the Accused has a history of not respecting and obeying the Surety, then the court may refuse bail.
In some instances, a curfew may be required of the Accused and the court will want to be sure that the Surety can supervise and ensure that requirement. If the Accused is not to live with the Surety, then the Surety must be able to demonstrate to the court methods such as daily telephone contact and visits to ensure that the curfew and residence requirements are obeyed. |
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| Assets of the Surety |
| The court is interested in knowing the assets of the Surety. Usually, the court will not ask for cash bail unless the Accused has been charged with a drug offence, lives more than 200 kilometres from the court or is a non‑resident of Ontario. The court will want to know whether the Surety has a home, its value and the debt owing on a mortgage if any. The court will want to know where the Surety works, for how long, and how much money the Surety is paid. The court must be satisfied that should the Accused not live up to the terms of their release, then the Surety is capable of paying the forfeited bail to the court. |
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| Criminal Record |
| The court will want to know if the Surety is facing outstanding criminal charges or has a criminal record. Such an individual is not usually desirable as a Surety. The Surety's familiarity with the Accused's past criminal record is desirable. Knowledge of it assures the court that the Surety knows what risk he or she is facing. |
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| Previous Surety for the Accused |
| The court will be quite satisfied in learning that in the past the Surety acted as such for the Accused without any difficulty. This will assist the court in assessing the risk of releasing the Accused. Conversely, if the Surety acted as such for the Accused in the past and a breach of the bail terms occurred, then the court may find that the Surety cannot properly supervise the Accused and therefore bail can be refused. |
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| Terms of Bail |
| The court can set the following terms. It can order that the Accused not have any contact directly or indirectly with an alleged victim. The Surety must ensure that this does not happen and must not act as an intermediary between these two people. The court can order a curfew. The Surety must assure the court that it will be met. The court may order that the Accused stay away from a certain place. The Surety is responsible for supervising the Accused so that this condition is obeyed. Occasionally, the court may order that the Accused, if released, must report to the police once or twice a week or month. Again the Surety must ensure that this order is obeyed. |
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| Other Terms |
 Surrender Passport |
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| Seek Assessment and Treatment for Alcohol / Drug Abuse or Anger Management |
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| Remain within Ontario |
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| Not Attend with a Certain Distance of a Place / Person |
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| Not Enter a specific municipality |
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| Abide by Rules of House |
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| Not Possess Drugs / Weapons / Alcohol |
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| Maintain / Seek Employment / Education |
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| Not Operate a Motor Vehicle |
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| This is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion for every criminal case. Please make an appointment with us to discuss any concerns you have in your particular case. |
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| Back to FAQ's |
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