A Bail Hearing in Ontario is the matter where the Judge or Justice of the Peace decides whether or not you are allowed to return to the community while your case is processed in criminal court.

If you are granted ‘bail’ you must abide by the Ontario Court of Justice conditions. If denied ‘bail’, you will be in custody until your case is resolved or your case goes to trial.

Though you can appeal a bail hearing under the Canadian Criminal Code, the chances of success are slim. Enlisting our legal counsel will increase your chances as Semyonov Law can help explain the bail process to the accused and arrange further compromises to create alleviate the stresses of bail conditions.

Under the Canadian Criminal Code in Ontario, a Bail Hearing must take place within 24 hours of being arrested or as soon as a legislative Judge is available. 

Enlisting the help of our bail hearing lawyer can have positive financial effects. In some circumstances, the lawyer can get bail reduced by presenting extensive information to the judge that reverses the severity of initial charges. 

Semyonov Law works tirelessly to ensure that a bail hearing will go as smoothly and professionally as possible, as we dedicate ourselves to ensuring the court will not put strict bail conditions on the accused.

A Judge will take into consideration several factors when determining a defendant’s bail including but not limited to the severity of the alleged crime, the circumstances of the alleged crime, the defendant’s current conduct and criminal record and the defendant’s history and impact on their community.

Each bail amount varies from province to province, depending on the rigour of the crime in question.

There are 3 grounds of detention a Judge ruling under the Ontario Court of Justice must take into account for a bail hearing:

1. Primary: the severity of the alleged offence
2. Secondary: the likelihood of the defendant committing additional crimes if released 
3. Tertiary: the defendant fleeing the premise and not appearing in court.

If a Judge has a reason to believe that you are guilty of any of the above detentions, your bail will be denied. 

A raise in bail is the outcome of a negative change of circumstance between the bail hearing and the court date. A judge may raise the bail amount upon further discovering that the defendant’s crimes are increasingly more severe. 

For example, if the defendant had originally been accused of misdemeanour charges, but upon further investigation, it has been discovered that the charges should have been for sexual assault, the bail will be raised.

Alternatively, a judge ruling under the Ontario Court of Justice can raise bail if the victim has had progressively worse injuries than initially experienced. 

If the defendant proves to be a threat to the community, bail might also be raised.