How long can the police hold me before I go before a judge?
Short answer
In Canada, section 503 of the Criminal Code provides that a person who is arrested and detained must be taken before a justice of the peace without unreasonable delay, and within 24 hours at the latest where a justice is available. If none is available within that time, the person must be taken before a justice as soon as possible.
In detail
Section 503 sets out the 24-hour rule. It is not a right to hold you for 24 hours: the law first requires that there be no unreasonable delay. The 24 hours are a ceiling, not a standard.
The same section also allows an officer to release you before that period runs out if satisfied that your detention is no longer necessary. That is what happens in a large share of cases: the person is released on an undertaking to appear, with or without conditions, and is given a court date.
If you stay in custody, the first appearance is the first step before the court. The judge reads out the counts and decides whether you remain detained or are released, generally on conditions.
Section 9 of the Charter separately protects against arbitrary detention or imprisonment, and section 10(c) allows the validity of a detention to be reviewed by way of habeas corpus.
What to document
Write down the exact time of the arrest, the time you arrived at the station, the time of every transfer, the time of the first appearance and the time of release. Keep every time-stamped document. This time limit is counted to the hour.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Criminal Code, s. 503 — Justice Laws Website
- The judicial process in criminal cases — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
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- Can the victim withdraw the complaint?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.