Local leaders in many large to medium courts are finding ways to enhance bail processes as a way to reduce the number of appearances needed to complete a criminal charge.

In Ottawa, the second busiest criminal court in Ontario by charge volume, local leaders built on an existing good practice to develop a “streamlined consent process” that has resulted in increased capacity in Bail Court.

Under the streamlined process, the Crown is available to meet with Defence Counsel by 9 a.m. or earlier, to discuss bail status on all new files. Once bail status is determined, Defence Counsel can meet with the client in the cell block. If the client consents to the Crown’s conditions for bail, the court is notified and the matter can be addressed from the cell block.

“Prior to this initiative we were regularly opening extra Bail Courts to accommodate the need for more hearings,” says Viviane Carpentier, Acting Director of Court Operations - East Region. “Another issue was that while our court was scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., it often stood in recess for long periods of time while waiting for prisoners to be transported one by one to the courtroom. We felt we could use that time more effectively.”

Consent releases and consent adjournments are conducted at designated times in the morning and afternoon, via intercom between a Justice of the Peace in Bail Court and the accused in an intake room in the courthouse cell block. If there are concerns or if the accused does not provide consent, the matter is dealt with in person in Bail court.

Since implementing the streamlined process, the Ottawa court has reduced the time that Bail court is standing in recess, and has not had to open extra Bail Courts.

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