Glossary
In Criminal Law
If you are released from custody after a bail hearing it means that you have been given bail. Bail is also known as judicial interim release. This means that the Court is satisfied that if they release you, you will not commit crime, you will show up to your court dates and you will follow all the rules the court gives you while your case is ongoing.
If you are not released after a bail hearing you will be held in custody until your case is over or until you are released from custody on a bail review.
In Abuse and Family Violence, Family Law
A bail hearing is when the person charged with a crime goes to court after they have been arrested. At court, they ask a judge or justice of the peace to decide whether the police can continue to keep them in jail, or whether they must let you go.
The judge might give you “conditions” that you must follow if they let you go. For example, the court might order them to stay away from their partner.
In Criminal Law, Mental health court and drug treatment court
This is a court proceeding to decide whether a person charged with a criminal offence can be released from custody while their case is going on, and if so, on what conditions. In most cases a justice of the peace will conduct the bail hearing with a Crown and a defence lawyer (including duty counsel).
In Criminal Law
The bail program helps people in bail court who don’t have anyone they can ask to be their surety. Through the bail program, the accused person is supervised. They must report to a caseworker at regular intervals and follow other conditions if they’re told to. This helps address the court’s concerns about releasing the accused person. The bail program is a stricter type of release than being released on your own recognizance.
In Criminal Law
This is a court proceeding in Superior Court where the result of a bail hearing can be appealed. You can apply for a bail review if you are denied bail at your bail hearing. To succeed, you must show either a change in circumstances or an error of law by the justice of the peace who conducted your original bail hearing.
A change in circumstances is a big change in your life that makes your bail plan more suitable. For example, you may have an additional surety who is able to help supervise you.
Balance, when talking about money, can be:
- the amount of money you have in a bank account, or
- the amount of money you owe to a creditor
For example, the balance on your credit card is the total amount of money you owe.
In Criminal Law
Balance of probabilities describes the way a judge makes decisions about some legal issues. Proving something on a balance of probabilities means that it is more likely than not to have happened.
It’s easier to show proof on a balance of probabilities than to show proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is what has to happen for you to be convicted of a criminal offence.
In Family Law
Balance of probabilities is the standard or legal test of proof usually required in a family law case. The judge has to decide who is more believable – you or your partner.
In Housing Law
Balance of probabilities is the standard of proof usually required in hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board and other non-criminal courts and tribunals. The tribunal has to decide whose evidence is more believable – yours or your landlord’s.
Bankruptcy is a legal process. When you begin the bankruptcy process, it’s called filing for bankruptcy. When you file for bankruptcy someone called a Licensed Insolvency Trustee decides what you have to pay your creditors.
When you file for bankruptcy, you can keep some of your assets, such as furniture, pension funds, and registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) that you’ve had for over 12 months.
But you may not be able to keep other assets, such as your home and RRSP contributions that you made within the 12 months before you filed for bankruptcy.
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