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| Patrick Ducharme |
The judicial interim release hearing is the first opportunity for counsel to gather facts, assess the evidence, and examine conflicting theories of the case. This is an important part of the trial process. Mistakes made at this hearing may linger to the end of the trial and have negative impact on the trial. Counsel for the accused should not conduct a bail hearing without proper disclosure. It may be that full disclosure is not available to either the defence or the prosecution at the time of the bail hearing. However, whatever disclosure is available should be obtained and reviewed prior to beginning the hearing.
The defence should have the same disclosure as the prosecutor. Evidentiary rules related to the admissibility of evidence are less strict at bail hearings than the rules of admissibility of evidence at trial.
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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