The court will take into consideration several factors concerning your proposed bail plan. These factors include the nature of sureties, the elements of the proposed bail plan, the nature of the criminal offence, your prior criminal history, and your personal relationships with members of your community.
Conditions of release are imposed for the following reasons:
- To protect public safety, including witnesses and victims
- To stop the accused from committing other criminal offences
- To stop the accused from committing the same offence in the future
- To determine the identity of the accused
- To make sure the accused appears in court
Altering conditions of bail will depend on whether or not an individual accused of a crime was released after a bail hearing or after an undertaking. Another major factor regarding altering the conditions of release includes whether or not it is done with or without the consent of a prosecutor.
Conditions of release can be altered at any point in time with the prosecutor’s consent. However, if the conditions of release required a surety, the individual accused of a criminal offence must obtain written consent from the surety regarding the altered conditions of bail.
If you were released on an undertaking, you must apply for and schedule a hearing during which you can request that specific bail conditions be altered. The hearing will take place before a justice of the peace or a judge. If you were released on bail and the prosecutor does not agree to an alteration of bail conditions, you must file a bail review application.
Affidavits and transcripts of bail hearings are required as part of the bail review application. You must demonstrate a procedural or substantive error that occurred at the bail hearing, or a material change in your circumstances. The bail review occurs in Superior Court.
