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Pocket Card: Your Rights at a Bail Hearing

Bail decides whether you wait for trial at home or in a cell. Where the law is on your side, on one card.

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Pocket Card
Ontario

If you are facing bail.

The starting point
  • Release, not jail. Section 11(e) of the Charter protects reasonable bail.
  • As a rule the Crown must justify holding you, not the other way around.
Three grounds to detain
  • Will you come back to court. Are you a risk to public safety. Would release harm confidence in justice.
  • If none is made out, you should be released.
Your rights
  • Counsel at the hearing. Free duty counsel can help.
  • The least onerous conditions. A surety is not always required.
  • If detained, you can seek a review in a higher court.
Helps your case
  • A realistic release plan and a willing surety. Get advice early.
printmag.org
General information, not legal advice. Ontario, 2026.