Bail Assistance

San Diego Defense Lawyer, Bail Assistance

What is Bail?
Bail amount is the required payment that is needed for a person to be released from jail prior to the trial. If you do not post bail, you will remain in jail until the date of the trial. The payment must be made in full and is done with the assistance of a bondsman. This payment is then deposited with the court based on the agreement that you will appear in court. Failure to appear in court will result in losing the deposit and a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

What Determines if Bail is Needed and its Amount?
Many factors go into deciding how much your bail is going to be:

• Community relations
• Likelihood you will appear at the trial
• The severity of the offense
• Criminal record
• Past failures to go to court

In some cases, a judge will waive the need the need of bail under the basis that you will make an appearance in court without it. This is called release on own recognizance.

An alternative to release on own recognizance, is release on citation. During the arrest, an officer can issue a citation to the person who committed the crime. This citation will have the trial date.

Ways to Post Bail
There are also several ways to post bail:

• Cash: This requires a payment in full that will be refunded after the case is over if the defendant has made all required trial dates.
• Property: Property of the defendant can be used, but it requires equity in the property to total double the amount of bail.
• Bondsman: The arrested person pays a bondsman a fee. This is typically ten percent of the bail amount, and it is not refundable. After this payment, the bondsman pays the bail.

Every person has the right to a hearing to determine the need of bail and its amount. Contact the Law Offices of David Boertje today to make sure you get the rights and representation you are entitled to.