How it Works
While every case is different, the following is a general guideline for the steps a case will typically take from the time of arrest until completion. At times the criminal courts may appear to be moving extremely slowly - court dates may be weeks apart, disclosure may not be available, and once trial dates are ready to be set they be 6+ months away. It is not unusual for it to take a year or more for even the most minor cases to reach trial. While this is not necessarily a disadvantage to an accused person, it can at times be frustrating if they are dealing with restrictive bail conditions or are just anxious to put the matter behind them.
Release After Arrest
Following an arrest, the police may release someone directly from their custody, or they may decide to hold someone for a bail hearing (also referred to as a show-cause hearing).
If someone is released directly from police custody then they may have to agree to abide by certain conditions. Examples include a curfew, a commitment not to contact certain individuals, or a commitment not to drive.
The police will also provide a court date and a date to appear for pictures and prints. Unless a lawyer is able to make alternative arrangements, you can be charged with another offence if you fail to appear on either of these dates.
Bail Hearing
Those not released immediately following arrest will have to appear in court for a bail hearing. An Accused person has the right to appear before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours of arrest (this includes weekends and statutory holidays). When in court the Crown will inform the Accused whether they can be released on consent, or whether they will seek someone's detention and thus require a contested bail hearing. If someone has outstanding charges, the Crown may also request that they be held in custody for up to three days so all of the outstanding charges can also be before the court at the hearing.
Depending on the nature of the charge and whether there are any outstanding charges the court will determine whether the onus is on the Crown or the Accused to "show-cause" whether a person should or should not be released. Factors that come into play include a person's criminal record (particularly whether they have ever been convicted of breaching bail), the nature of the charges and potential strength of the Crown's case, and the proposed plan of release. A plan of release considers how the Accused will be properly supervised to ensure they come to court and that the public is protected from any further criminal conduct (this is considered regardless of whether an Accused person is actually guilty). Those supervising the Accused are called sureties. In addition to agreeing to assist with supervision, sureties will be asked to pledge an amount of money which they can lose if the Accused person breaches any of the conditions.
If the Justice of the Peace or Judge feels the Accused is suitable for release then he/she will determine appropriate conditions and the amount of money the sureties will need to pledge.
For a thorough review of the bail hearing process, please click here.
First Appearance
At the first court date, an Accused person should receive their disclosure and find out more information on how the Crown intends to proceed with their case. Disclosure is the evidence that the Crown will use to try and prove their case against an Accused. There may be further items of disclosure such as videotaped statements, officer's notes not yet available, that will be provided at a further court date or upon request of defence counsel.
Generally a "charge screening form" will be attached to the disclosure. This form will state how the Crown intends to proceed (if they have decided yet) - summarily or by indictment, as well as an idea of what sentence they would be looking for upon a plea of guilty.
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