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| Patrick Ducharme |
A Justice presiding at a bail hearing may name a person as a surety. A surety is a person who makes a solemn promise in the form of a recognizance that he will forfeit a specific sum of money if the accused fails to abide by any of the conditions imposed by the court in the recognizance. If an accused is unable to procure a suitable surety, he may seek the consent of the prosecutor to deposit a specific amount of money instead.
The Justice will require reliable evidence that a proposed surety is both willing and able to serve as the accused’s “civilian jailer” which requires that the surety understand the significant obligations placed upon him and the consequences in the event of a failure. The evidence also usually includes sufficient information about the financial circumstances of the surety to assure that the surety can pay the debt promised in the event of a breach by the accused.
A surety who wishes to have himself removed as surety may apply to the court to be relieved of his obligation or may render the accused into custody. The accused, in response to the loss of a surety, may procure another suitable person to substitute for the removed surety or proceed automatically to a new bail hearing.
The above is the an excerpt of Patrick J Ducharme's book, Canadian Criminal Procedure, available at Amazon or in bulk through MedicaLegal Publishing along with Criminal Trial Strategies.
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