Surety (Canadian criminal law)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Canadian law, the term is applied to a person approved by the bail judge to supervise and be responsible for a person charged with an offense under the Criminal Code of Canada. A person arrested and charged with a criminal code violation, under Canadian law, must appear in court, before a judge, within seventy-two hours to have a bail hearing, unless the person, their attorney and the court mutually agree to delay the proceeding.

The respondent under law can have but one bail hearing, thus they may wish to delay the proceeding, and remain in custody, to allow their lawyer to find a suitable surety. The surety must swear to the court in writing, by signing Recognizance of Bail papers that they will guarantee the accused's return to court when required, and their abiding by all the conditions of recognizance set by the court. The judge will fine a surety, as much as the accused in some circumstances, if the accused fails to appear when scheduled. If the person on bail fails to appear, or violates Recognizance, their bail will likely be revoked and a warrant for their arrest will be issued. The surety will be fined, but face no criminal charge, although they may likely be precluded from acting as surety in the future.

Being a surety is a serious obligation under the law, and sureties are often asked to be prepared to inform the court on events that violate the bail conditions. A person with no suitable surety, ultimately the Crown Attorney and the defense lawyer or Duty counsel decide who is a suitable surety, will have to remain in custody until they plead guilty or come to trial, a prospect in many Canadian jurisdictions that may result in as much as a year in detention because of case backlogs.