What happens in court if an accused wants to agree to a peace bond so that the Crown will withdraw the charge(s)?
For an accused to enter into a peace bond, the following steps will typically occur in criminal court:
- The court clerk will read out the peace bond information (sometimes called an “810” after section 810 of the Criminal Code). This will probably sound very strange because old legal language is used. At the end of reading the information, the court clerk will ask the accused if they wish to “show cause.”
- If the accused wants to enter into the peace bond so that the Crown will withdraw the charge(s), the accused will say that they don’t wish to “show cause.”
- The Crown will read out the allegations against the accused. For example, if the accused has been charged with assault, the allegations might be something like “the accused got into an argument with the victim and slapped him/her across the face.”
- The Crown will read out the terms they are seeking in the peace bond. Every peace bond will have the term to “keep the peace and be of good behaviour.”
- An example of the terms that the Crown may seek are:
- 12 month peace bond; $500 without deposit or surety; no weapons; no contact with John Doe and not to attend within 100 metres of John Doe’s residence, place of employment or education
- these terms are usually worked out in a resolution meeting with the Crown before the accused agrees to enter into the peace bond in court.
- After the terms sought by the Crown are read out, the judge will ask the accused if they agree to the terms. If they agree to the terms, the judge will order them to enter into the peace bond.