I have been charged with fraud or a domestic assault in Ontario — what happens at bail and after?
After arrest the accused is either released on an undertaking or held for a bail hearing, and domestic matters almost always carry no-contact conditions that apply immediately.
Following arrest an accused is either released by the officer in charge on an undertaking or held for a bail hearing, which must occur without unreasonable delay. The Criminal Code favours release on the least onerous terms, but the Crown can seek detention on the primary, secondary or tertiary grounds, and in some circumstances the onus shifts to the accused.
Domestic files carry near-automatic conditions: no contact with the complainant, no attendance at the residence, and often a surety. Those conditions bind immediately and breaching them creates a new charge that is usually harder to resolve than the original one.
Fraud files are document cases. The strength of the Crown's case depends on records, and early defence work is about obtaining full disclosure and testing the paper trail. In both categories, say nothing to police beyond identification and speak to counsel first.
Source: Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, Part XVI
This work is handled by Gagan Pannu (Criminal defence). Read more about criminal defence at VK Law Group, or send us the facts and we will tell you where you stand.
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