System Glitches Thwart Bail Hearings

It is a case of glitches in the system for two accused held in custody when it came to bail hearings at Moose Jaw Provincial Court on Friday morning.

For one accused it was the slowness of the paperwork coming from the Regina Correctional Centre which postponed the bail hearing until a report was completed.

A delay which had Legal Aid lawyer Suzanne Jeanson saying she agreed with Judge Daryl Rayner when he asked if it might be better for the Court to contact the Correctional Centre to speed up the report.

Court heard from the defendant who said he had already spoken to a psychiatrist for the report four days prior.

The Court was under the impression the accused had not yet been interviewed for the bail hearing.

For the second accused it was finding a lawyer which had his bail hearing set over until a Legal Aid lawyer in Regina was available to represent the accused.

The accused has already been approved to be represented by Legal Aid Saskatchewan.

The court heard from the accused about having a landline at his home to allow him to be released and be electronically monitored.

The case was set over until the accused had proper legal representation available.

In both cases the accused were not responsible for the delay in receiving a bail hearing.

It needs to be noted although the public may often be angry that people accused with criminal offences often receive bail it is part of the Canadian legal system and a right of individuals who are innocent until proven guilty.