Monder Law Group - News
Bail
I NEED HELP: BAIL ME OUT, BUT HOW?
The Scenario: You’ve just been promoted at work! All your hard work that last year has paid off and you have a nice pay increase and new office to show for it. This is a great moment and your colleagues want to take you out for dinner and drinks to celebrate. You go for happy hour and celebrate with a beer, and at dinner you have a nice glass of red wine with your steak. This was a wonderful night; you feel on top of the world. Until, you see the flashing lights behind you… The next thing you know you’re heading to the county jail. How could this day take such a drastic turn for the worse? And what do you do now?
What Is Bail?
Your first thought upon landing in jail is often how to get out—and fast. The usual way to do this is to post bail.
Bail is cash, a bond, or property that an arrested person gives to a court to ensure that he or she will appear in court when ordered to do so. And if the accused doesn’t show up at their hearing, the court may keep the bail and issue a warrant for the defendant’s arrest. As a condition of release, the suspect promises to appear in court for all scheduled criminal proceedings — including arraignment, preliminary hearing, pre-trial motions, and the trial itself.
If the DUI suspect is not allowed to post bail at the police station immediately after booking, a judge may decide later, at a separate hearing or the arraignment, whether to allow release on bail. The bail amount may be predetermined, through a “bail schedule,” or the judge may set a monetary figure based on:
- Suspect’s DUI record and criminal history;
- Seriousness of the DUI offense, in terms of injury to others
- Suspect’s ties to family, community, and employment.
What If You Cannot Afford Bail?
This is where those infamous phone calls come into play, you know the “one phone call” you’re allowed, as dramatized in movies. You call up a friend or family member, and they put up the full bail amount as set by the court. Another option is posting a bond in lieu of the full amount. A bond is a written guarantee that the full bail amount will be paid if the suspect fails to appear as promised. Bonds are usually obtained through a bail bond agency that charges a fee for posting of the bond (usually about 10 percent of the bail amount). Bail bond agencies may also demand additional collateral before posting the bond, since the agency will be responsible for paying the full bail amount if the suspect “jumps bail” and fails to appear as promised. If you cannot contact, or don’t want to contact friends or family members on this matter, then you can call your skilled criminal defense attorney and have your DUI attorney post your bail.
The Ideal Setting: Released on “Own Recognizance”
This is where having a skilled criminal defense attorney is critical. When a DUI suspect is arrested, booked, and granted “own recognizance” release, no bail money needs to be paid to the court, and no bond is posted. The suspect is merely released after promising, in writing, to appear in court for all upcoming proceedings. Most state criminal courts impose certain conditions on own recognizance release, prohibiting the suspect from leaving the area while proceedings are ongoing, or requiring that the suspect contact the court periodically while the case is ongoing.
As when setting bail, a criminal court judge deciding whether to grant own recognizance release considers:
- Suspect’s DUI record and criminal history;
- Seriousness of the DUI offense, in terms of injury to others
- Suspect’s ties to family, community, and employment.
If a DUI suspect released on “own recognizance” fails to appear in criminal court as scheduled, he or she is subject to immediate arrest, and any chance for bail release is all but eliminated.
If you or a loved one is arrested for DUI, you will need an experienced DUI lawyer to make sure all of your legal rights are preserved. A skilled attorney who specializes in defending DUI cases will evaluate all the evidence, including the procedure and results of any field sobriety and chemical tests, to ensure that you are given a fair process. Further, it’s important to speak to a lawyer familiar with the laws in your jurisdiction. Contact San Diego criminal defense attorney Vik Monder today, and get all of your DUI concerns alleviated.
