Bail hearing lawyers
If someone you know is being held for a hearing, the next 24 hours matter more than any other day of the case. This is what we do, and what it costs.
What happens when you call
Most people who telephone us about bail are not the accused. They are a parent, a partner or an employer who has just been told that someone is in custody, that there is a hearing tomorrow, and very little else. The call usually opens with an apology for the hour. It is never necessary.
We ask 5 things: who is in custody, where they are being held, what they are charged with, when the hearing is listed, and who might stand as surety. From that we can tell you within a few minutes whether the onus is likely to be on the Crown or on you, which changes everything about how the day has to be prepared.
Then we go to work on the plan of release, because that is what actually gets people out. A hearing is not won by argument. It is won by arriving with a plan so specific that the justice can see exactly how the risk is being managed.
Why counsel, and not duty counsel
Duty counsel are good lawyers doing an impossible volume of work. Here is the difference, put plainly.
- Time before the hearing
Duty counsel meet you that morning with a list in hand. We start the afternoon before, which is when sureties get prepared and a plan of release gets built.
- Preparing the surety
A surety who has not been prepared is the most common reason a hearing fails. They are cross-examined. We take them through it first, in detail, so nothing on the stand is a surprise.
- Reverse onus
Where the onus has shifted onto the accused, the hearing stops being a formality. That is the situation where retained counsel most reliably changes the result.
- The record you leave behind
What is said at a bail hearing follows the file. We are conscious that the transcript will be read again at trial, and we do not concede things for a quick release.
What we do before the hearing
We get the synopsis and whatever disclosure exists, and we read it before we speak to the Crown. A release is very often negotiated rather than litigated, and the negotiation goes better when we already know what the allegation actually is.
We interview every proposed surety. Not a phone call: an interview. We want to know what they earn, what they own, whether they can genuinely supervise, whether they have a record of their own, and whether they understand that the money they are pledging is real. If a surety will not survive cross-examination, it is better that we find that out than the Crown.
We build the plan of release around the objections we expect. If the concern is that the person will not come back, we address residence, employment and travel documents. If the concern is public safety, we address contact, curfew, supervision and, where it helps, counselling that has already started. Conditions we propose ourselves are far easier to live with than conditions imposed on us.
Then we tell the person in custody what to expect, through counsel visits or by phone, so that they are not learning the shape of the hearing while it is happening to them.
Where these hearings happen
Most Toronto bail matters are heard at 2201 Finch Avenue West. We appear across the region.
- Toronto bail court
2201 Finch Avenue West, the dedicated bail centre for Toronto. Directions, what to bring and what to expect are on that page.
- Ontario Court of Justice
Bail is heard in the Ontario Court of Justice in Newmarket, Brampton, Oshawa, Milton and Hamilton, and we appear in all of them.
- Superior Court
Reviews of a detention order, and bail on the most serious charges, go to the Superior Court of Justice.
Questions people ask at 2 a.m.
How quickly can you be at the hearing?
Usually the same day, and often within a few hours. Bail is one of the few things in criminal law that genuinely cannot wait, so it goes to the front of the queue. Call (416) 645-2888 and say the words “bail hearing” and where the person is being held. That is enough for us to start.
Is duty counsel not free?
Duty counsel are free, they are experienced, and on a straightforward release they are often all that is needed. What they do not have is time. They meet you that morning, they are carrying a list, and they cannot spend the afternoon before the hearing preparing your surety or building a plan of release. On a reverse onus, a weak surety or a serious allegation, that difference decides the outcome.
What does a bail hearing cost?
We quote a block fee for the hearing itself, so you know the number before we start rather than watching a meter run during the worst week of your life. What moves it is whether the onus is on you, how many sureties have to be prepared and called, and whether the hearing will run more than a day. We put it in writing.
Can you get the conditions changed later?
Often, yes. Conditions that made sense at the hearing stop making sense when someone changes jobs, moves, or needs to attend a funeral. A variation can be agreed with the Crown in writing, and where the Crown will not agree there is a further route through the Superior Court. This is routine work and it is worth asking about rather than breaching.
What if bail has already been refused?
A detention order is not the end. There is a review in the Superior Court, and there is the question of what has changed since the first hearing, which is often the more productive line. People come to us after an unsuccessful hearing more often than you would think, and we take those files.
What do you need from me on the first call?
The name of the person in custody, where they are being held, what they are charged with, when the hearing is scheduled, and a number we can reach you on. If you know who is willing to act as surety, say so. Everything else can follow.
This page describes how we work, not legal advice about a particular case. The release provisions are in Part XVI of the Criminal Code of Canada, and the right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause is in section 11(e) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Duty counsel at the courthouse are free whatever you earn: Legal Aid Ontario can explain how to reach them.
Written and reviewed by Rita Levin, criminal defence lawyer, called to the Ontario bar on 29 May 1998. Law Society of Ontario licence no. 41157R. Last reviewed .
If there is a hearing tomorrow, call tonight.
Bail is the one part of a criminal case that cannot be rescheduled to suit anybody. The first call is free, and it can happen at any hour.
We are a private practice and our fees reflect the work involved. A serious matter is prepared over months, and we keep our numbers low so each file gets the hours it needs. We will tell you what your case is likely to cost on the first call, before you commit to anything. And if the honest answer is that duty counsel, Legal Aid or another firm would serve you better, we will tell you that instead.
Talk it through with a lawyer
The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will give you an honest read on where you stand, whether you retain us or not.
We are a private practice and our fees reflect the work involved. A serious matter is prepared over months, and we keep our numbers low so each file gets the hours it needs. We will tell you what your case is likely to cost on the first call, before you commit to anything. And if the honest answer is that duty counsel, Legal Aid or another firm would serve you better, we will tell you that instead.