On most days of the week,
the Vancouver police lockup
is filled with 40 to 50 people.
Most have been charged and
are’ _ waiting to appear in
court.for*’a_ bail. hearing.
Many do not have their own
lawyers.

Fortunately, the legal
system offers assistance: to,
those: bout. to make. their

called é a duty ¢ counsel.

rvice ‘organizations

“such as’the . Salvation Army
and. ee hoy Enow the ,

have a heavy
t ey can do little

‘sometimes ‘represent
accused > persons at bail

hearings.

Ay ‘person who can’t ‘afford
to “hire a lawyer will be

_Tepresented—by- a duty

counsel at his bail hearing,
also: called a show cause
hearing. -At this Provincial

me-13, 1979 - North Shore News

LAW TALK ~
What to do when |
the cell door closes

. ‘By MIGUEL MOYA

nee ee

is confidential and that no

‘one can make me disclose .. -
this information. Its im ©
portant for me to know the .

truth because I run the.

defense on the basis of this

information.”

Little information is
‘available for a show cause

’ hearing. Usually there’s a
police ‘report, perhaps a
court worker's report, a brief
interview with the accused
by. duty counsel and a

.. criminal record report if the

i: : “ ! person - whas a previous
worker or a ‘legal aid lawyer, : .

conviction. -

- ‘Therefore, the hearing

becomes a ‘surprise con.

trontation with neither side

having much to work with.

- Because the hearing often

does not allow much time for

preparation, it is important

ay for an accused person to be
., familiar with the procedure,. -
‘the issues involved and what __-
‘the court considers. If you.
are equipped with this —

knowledge, your chances of
fair bail terms are better.

eh ground on which

detention is justified is to
ensure the attendance of the
- accused in court. Therefore,
it is important for your
lawyer to present. in-
formation indicating that
you can be relied on to
appear in court.

Court: hearing, cither yours For ‘example, if you have a

lawyer or the Crown
Prosecutor, depending on
the ‘offence, must show
cause why you should be
trial or. kept in jail until

Rs A person not released

by
the police and charged with
an offense carrying a penalty
of less’ ‘than two years will
usually be released by a
justice of the peace. This
usually occurs when the

"police are willing to have the

accused .released but want
conditions imposed, such as
a requirement that he
remain atthe same address.

The prosecutor has the
right to a show cause
hearing. This is more
common for offences
carrying penalties of more
than two years in jail. But it
is not uncommon for a show
cause hearing to be held if
there is an indication that
the accused will not show up
for trial.

The prosecutor will study
the police report and bring
on a show cause hearing
within 24 hours of arrest. If
he has a good reason for not
proceeding at that time, he
will be granted an ad-
journment for up to three
days to prepare his position.

Before an accused person
appears in court for a show
cause hearing, he is visited in
the lockup by his lawyer or a
duty counsel. The lawyer's
job here is to find in-
formation that he can
present in court to show it is
not necessary to jail his
client until trial.

H.A.D. Oliver, a Van-
couver criminal lawyer,
stresses that it is important
for a client to be completely
honest with his lawyer. “I
tell my clients at the outsct
that everything they tell me

fixed address, are married
and support children and
have held the same job for a
number of --years,
circumstances will work in
your favor. During the in-
terview with duty counsel,
you should mention
favorable circumstances or
anything in your background
that indicates you can be
trusted.

In most cases, if the court
decides you can be relied on
to appear in court, the
crown will have to show that
detention is necessary on a
secondary ground: in the
public interest ofr for

protection of the public. The —

court must also consider the
likelihood that the accused
will commit a crime or in-
terfere with the ad-
ministration of justice if
released.

When arguing against
detention on the secondary
ground, a defense lawyer
will usually stress that his
client does not have a
criminal record, if this is the
case. If the accused does
have a criminal “record, a
lawyer will likely attempt to
show his client is not a threat
to the public and will not
destroy evidence or in-
timidate witnesses.

Considerations here would
be statements made by the
accused to the police, his
behavior when arrested and
the offense with which he
has been charged.

An accused should ask his
lawyer about anything he
doesn’t understand and
ideally know the information
to be submitted on his bchalf
before entering court.

He should also be awarc
that an important decision is
being made about his life at

CONTINUED ON PAGE 72

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