Difference between revisions of "Criminal Charges (1:IV)"

Sometimes an accused is unhappy with one or more of their bail conditions and wants those conditions changed. Bail conditions can be changed in Provincial Court with consent of the Crown. However, if a trial has already begun, the judge can make the variation without Crown consent. If there is no consent by the Crown, it becomes a Supreme Court matter (see below). In order to convince the Crown to vary bail conditions, it will be necessary to convince the Crown Counsel that a less restrictive condition is sufficient to meet the concern addressed by the condition or that the condition is no longer necessary. For example, on a spousal assault file, an accused is usually released on a condition that they do not contact their spouse. It is not uncommon that following an incident the couple will want to contact each other. In these circumstances, the Crown will often interview the complainant in order to determine what if any no-contact conditions remain necessary for the complainant.

Should Crown not consent to the proposed bail review an accused can bring an application to review the bail conditions before a judge of the BC Supreme Court under section 520 of the ''Criminal Code''. Review procedures in the Supreme Court are difficult for a layperson to navigate through and anyone conducting such a review is advised to retain a lawyer.