The last two weeks were big court weeks for me, with a contested motion, a few set-date appearances, and bail court last Friday. It’s been a while since I did a stint as duty counsel at bail court, and I was a bit worried that I’d be a little rough getting back on that one, but like a bicycle, you never really seem to forget how!

Bail court is probably one of the most stressful court days, for me and many other lawyers, because you never know what to expect. You’re meeting your clients for the first time that day, usually, and you have to make sure they have sureties ready, interview those sureties, interview the client, talk to the Crown to see if a consent bail is available or whether the Crown is willing to offer a plea deal. On top of that, you have to question the surety and hope that they present well on the stand (with no time to prep them in any meaningful way), keep an eye on the facts being presented by the Crown, and be ready to present evidence of your own and question a cop (whose notes you’ve just gotten that day, if you’re lucky).

Yeah, bail days are always big days.