Who gets bail — and who doesn't? Take a look inside Manitoba's courtrooms

An 18-year-old with severe fetal alcohol spectrum disorder accused of running drivers off the road in a stolen truck was among those denied release during recent bail hearings in Winnipeg.

Court heard the man, who started drinking when he was eight, was awaiting a meeting to get set up with community supports when he was arrested in September — and he was also on a probation order that forbade him from being in the driver’s seat of a vehicle, after being convicted of similar crimes.

A judge denied the man bail, saying while he had empathy for his situation, "it's a risk analysis" — and even the ankle monitor proposed by the man’s lawyer "is not going to solve his impulsiveness," which court heard is common among people with FASD.

"If he decides to go and steal a car, he's capable of doing that — and he's done it."

CBC News went to bail court to learn more about who gets released, who doesn’t and why.

During two days of hearings in Winnipeg’s two dedicated contested bail courtrooms, seven accused people appeared onscreen from custody, as a judge listened to lawyers argue why each person should or shouldn’t be released as their case moves through the courts. 

Of those seven, only two who applied for bail were released.

The hearings come amid growing calls for changes to bail, which recently culminated in the federal government announcing legislation designed to make it more difficult to get, especially for repeat and violent offenders.

But lawyers on both sides of the courtroom in Manitoba say recent calls for reform largely miss the real issues — from the volume of cases moving through the system straining court resources, to the complex social issues often behind the crimes landing people in custody.

Issues like mental illness, addictions, homelessness and cognitive challenges like FASD come up often in bail court — and one senior Manitoba Crown attorney said from what he's seen, there isn't enough support in the community to help those people. 

"We are even less equipped to deal with it" in bail court, Paul Cooper said.

"We deal with it according to law," said Cooper, who also teaches courses on bail to other prosecutors.

"'Is this person a menace? Well, then I guess we have to keep them in custody. Are they manageable? Then we can release them.' That's really the only options that we have."

And though stories of people on bail being arrested for new offences have made headlines, "the vast majority of what you don't see is stuff that just runs the way that it should," he said.