A Strict Bail as a Mitigating Factor on Sentence
An accused is entitled to a pre-trial bail credit where the Court is satisfied there has been an impact on his liberty as a result of strict bail conditions. R v Downes (2005), 2006 CanLII 3957 (ON CA), 205 CCC (3d) 488 (ONCA); R v Newman , 2005 ABCA 249 (CanLII); R v Liparoti , 2011 ABCA 250 (CanLII); and R v Olsen , 2011 ABCA. * Time spent on stringent pre-sentence bail conditions, especially house arrest, is a relevant mitigating factor. That factor must be considered along with the myriad of other mitigating and aggravating circumstances that may impact on the sentence in a given case. * As such, the trial judge must consider the time spent on bail under house arrest in determining the length of sentence. * The failure of the trial judge to explain why time spent on bail under house arrest has not been taken into account is an error in principle. * The amount of credit to be given for time spent on bail under house arrest is within the dis...