Canada Case Law

R. v. O’Brien

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

The presiding justice denied the Crown's s.516(1) adjournment because the Crown had no good‑faith, bail‑related reason to adjourn: the police/Crown had six months to prepare, provided insufficient material at first appearance, and there was no reasonable prospect that witnesses would need to be called at a bail hearing for a six‑month‑old $40 liquor theft. Police conduct frustrated s.503 judicial oversight and the attending Crown representative was unprepared and unbriefed; accordingly continued detention was not justified and the accused was released on an undertaking to attend court.

Source excerpt

• Judicial interim release
• S.503 criminal code (first appearance)
• S.516(1) criminal code (adjournment)
• S.11(e) charter - right to reasonable bail
• Audioconference/videoconference use in bail hearings
• Duty to provide basic disclosure at first appearance

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R. v. Rosbergen

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal granted the Crown’s s. 680 application and directed review of a bail pending appeal order in a murder case, finding an arguable failure to assess appeal strength.

• Release pending appeal
• S.679 and s.680 criminal code review
• Public confidence in administration of justice
• Enforceability versus reviewability
• Strength of grounds of appeal
• Delay and sentence severity

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R. v. S.H.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The motion judge erred in law by treating a typographical reference to the wrong statutory subsection as rendering the release order a nullity; the order was valid and binding because it clearly released the respondent pending a new trial and the error was a slip; the respondent breached the order by being in the company of a child under 16; the Crown's application to revoke was granted, the release order revoked, and the respondent detained pending a show cause hearing.

Source excerpt

• Revocation of bail
• Validity of release orders
• Breach of bail conditions
• Collateral attack on court orders
• Jurisdiction to vary orders

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R v Sartoris

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Where counsel have agreed to minimally restrictive release terms and there is no evidence of Charter breaches or statutory overholding, the court will not conduct a forensic inquiry into police decision not to immediately release a person arrested under an endorsed warrant; a s.523.1 judicial referral hearing lawfully permits dismissal of the fail-to-appear charge and imposition of agreed release conditions.

Source excerpt

• Endorsed warrant
• Judicial referral hearing (s.523.1)
• Failure to appear (s.145(4)(b))
• Arbitrary detention (s.9 charter)
• Prosecutorial discretion
• Release conditions

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R v Ross

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Taking into account the accused's prolonged remand, mental-health treatment response to long-acting antipsychotic medication, lack of flight risk, the nature and seriousness of the charges, and the ability to monitor compliance through probation supervision, the accused has shown cause under s.515(10) that continued detention is not justified; he is admitted to bail on specified, minimal and targeted conditions (Appendix A); the earlier release order from 18 June 2024 is cancelled insofar as indictable offences were committed after it, and the police undertaking remains valid; sentencing and…

Source excerpt

• Bail (s.515)
• Reverse onus (s.515(6))
• Undertakings and release orders (s.501, s.524)
• Bail conditions and principle of restraint (zora)
• Bail following guilty plea/sentence scheduling (s.518, s.523)

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R. v. Losch

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court granted judicial interim release in a murder-related case, finding the accused had shown cause under ss. 522(2) and 515(10) of the Criminal Code.

• Judicial interim release
• Section 515(10) criminal code
• Section 522(2) criminal code
• Rondeau factors
• R. v. alexander
• R. v. st-cloud

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R. v. A.S.

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The application for bail pending appeal is dismissed because the applicant poses a substantial likelihood of reoffending based on a long-standing, premeditated pattern of sexual offending and concerning conduct while on bail (including pending allegations of impersonation), detention is necessary for public safety, and releasing him would undermine public confidence; the sole s.8 ground of appeal is not sufficiently strong to outweigh enforceability and public interest concerns, and the appeal can be expedited but does not justify interim release.

Source excerpt

• Voyeurism
• Sentencing
• Public confidence in administration of justice
• Section 679(3)(c) criminal code
• Section 8 charter (search and seizure)
• Publication bans

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R. v. Dias

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On a detention review, the court held that Dias could be released on strict conditions, including two sureties and electronic monitoring, but remained in custody pending an electronic-monitoring suitability report.

• Judicial interim release
• Reverse onus
• Tertiary ground for detention
• Conditions of release
• Sureties
• Electronic monitoring

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R. v. Cuddeford

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Bail review under s. 521 of the Criminal Code. The Supreme Court of British Columbia set aside judicial interim release and ordered Mr. Cuddeford detained.

• Judicial interim release
• Primary ground for detention
• Secondary ground for detention
• Tertiary ground for detention
• S. 11(e) charter
• S. 515(10) criminal code

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R. v. MacDonald

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The review application is dismissed because the new evidence (revised release plan and surety material) did not demonstrate a material and relevant change in circumstances: applicant failed the due diligence criterion, the new plan was substantially similar to the original plan (a 'reshuffling of the deck'), and it did not remedy the bail judge’s concrete concerns about the proposed surety’s ability to supervise; accordingly detention on secondary and tertiary grounds remained justified.

Source excerpt

• Judicial interim release
• Section 520 review
• Secondary and tertiary grounds s.515(10)(b),(c)
• Surety suitability
• Fresh evidence/palmers criteria
• Public confidence in administration of justice

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