Everybody relishes and longs for freedom. Yet, you could still find yourself on the wrong side of the law resulting in an arrest. Apprehension and detention in jail or police facilities are overwhelming because it temporarily denies you liberty and freedom. Under these circumstances, all you think about is salvaging your freedom to return to your old life and adequately prepare for trial. What efforts can you make to regain freedom pending trial? California statutes allow you to be jailed out awaiting trial through bail.
While bail is an excellent provision of the law, you will remain in custody if you or your family members cannot afford to raise the court bail. If you have been detained in Poway, Justice Bail Bonds can help you with cost-effective and trustworthy bond services. We deliver prompt services that ensure the shortest stay behind bars.
Bail Meaning
Under specific arrest circumstances, being issued with a written citation to be present for a case hearing is insufficient to guarantee an appearance. It is the reason the jury wants security or a guarantee of your attendance. Bail is a resource you use to be jailed out of police detention. They are funds you pledge to the judge to leave jail pending the prosecution of your case. During a release, you promise to attend court hearings as scheduled. If you keep your word to the court by attending all proceedings, the court will return your money. Nevertheless, you will be apprehended when you jump bail, and the funds deposited with the court will be forfeited.
Many defendants in jail often contact agencies that physically process bail. Nonetheless, with technological advancements, you can obtain bail services online. You do not need to move from one location to another to use the bail services when you opt to do it online. You or the person detained can fill out and sign processing forms online. Additionally, several payment methods are available to streamline bail bond payments to the appropriate court department.
Before your release, the judge handling your case will impose conditions you must adhere to while enjoying freedom. You must consent to frequent meetings with your probation officer and obey stay orders if any have been issued against you.
The offense you are charged with will determine the bail fund you will pay. In Poway, the judge relies on the San Diego County Bail Schedule to determine the funds you will deposit. The schedule lists the crime you are accused of and the fees you must deposit as bail.
Therefore, you can quickly know the amount you must pay the court while in jail after apprehension. Mainly, you should learn the offense you are charged with to track it on the schedule and know the amount you should deposit to acquire freedom. You need not appear before a judge to see the bail money. However, the court can choose to increase or reduce the funds provided on the schedule but within the law.
After obtaining bail information, you should reach out to your Poway bail bonds agency to aid your release. Reaching out to the bail services earliest possible will ensure prompt release.
Understanding Poway Bail Bonds
If you cannot afford the bail money, you risk remaining in jail until you obtain a verdict from the court, which can take months or years. You do not have to stay in custody when you cannot consolidate bail. You can utilize a bail bond, an affirmation made for you by your Poway bail bonds and presented before the court, assuring the judge of your court attendance as arranged. The bond services guarantee the bench that they will reimburse the total bond funds for you when you jump bail.
With this promise, your surety bond agency has an obligation to ensure that you maintain the bond by gracing hearings. In return for the assurance they have given the law court and the chance to exit jail without depositing the total bail money, you must pay the surety bond services a non-refundable payment; usually, 10% of the bail fee stated in the schedule.
When you obtain freedom through a surety bond, you should be present for all proceedings, the trial included. Skipping court will lead to bail invalidation and a re-arrest. It would help if you protected your liberty right after a pre-trial discharge by obeying all conditions the court imposes for your release. Additionally, you must retain the services of your surety bond company.
The first time you contact a bonds agency for their services, they will ask for your personal info and the offense you are accused of commissioning to develop an agreement that will initiate the bond procedure once signed. Again, the bond agency will do their homework on your background to determine if you have a history of skipping court and whether posting bail for you is a risk worth taking.
If you have no history of jumping bail and other discoveries by the agency are satisfactory, they will fine-tune the deal and look for finances to pay a portion of your bail. An acceptable background is not sufficient to guarantee court attendance. The bonds agency will require some form of collateral from you.
Once you have met all the demands by the agency, you will sign the agreement, and a certified bondsman will be sent to your detention facility or jail for your release.
Events Resulting in Bail Posting
Arrests are among the life events that come unplanned. Nonetheless, even if the event was spontaneous, it is best to know the steps you can take once you are in custody to secure release.
The first step after apprehension is contacting a defense attorney. You need a legal representative to guide you through the process and educate you about your rights.
The police are detaining you to collect more evidence which will be used to charge you for the offense in question. Therefore, you must be very careful when answering questions asked by the officers because you could end up making self-incriminating statements that will be used to prosecute you.
The law requires officers to read you the Miranda rights before an arrest. The arresting officer must explain the reason for the apprehension and inform you of your right to remain silent until your attorney is present. When they fail to do this, your arrest will be termed illegal by the court, and the charges against you will be dropped.
Also, it would help if you did not allow law police officers to search your property without a valid warrant. All searches conducted by police should involve a valid search warrant issued by a judge. Even if officers obtain crucial evidence that could be used against you in an illegal search, your attorney can petition the court to dismiss the evidence because it was illegally obtained.
In the California criminal justice system, the prosecutor has the burden of proof and must meet the evidentiary standard beyond reasonable certainty. Therefore, when the court dismisses some of the evidence obtained illegally, the prosecutor is left with a weak case that is difficult to prosecute due to insufficient evidence. As a result, the charges against you should be dismissed.
Once your legal representative knows you have been arrested, you should call your relatives to inform them of the facility where you are held.
After arrest, you will be taken to the nearest jail or police station for booking. The process entails several actions:
- Collecting your individual information, including your complete name, age, and bodily traits
- Gather information regarding the events leading to the arrest and crime are accused of committing
- Taking photos
- Fingerprint registration
- Running background checks for criminal records and active arrest warrants
- Surrendering all personal effects like keys, handbags, money, jewelry, and phone
Booking takes around thirty minutes or an hour, though it can take longer if the jail is understaffed or many individuals are being booked. Once you are booked, your file is forwarded to the district attorney, who evaluates that evidence against you to decide whether or not it is sufficient to file charges. The prosecutor should decide whether to file charges within 48 hours unless it is on a weekend or public holiday.
It is worth noting that the police will not detain you waiting to be produced in court if you have committed a minor crime like a traffic violation or a misdemeanor. They will issue you a written citation promising to attend court hearings as demanded.
However, for serious offenses, you must post bail to be released. Alternatively, the judge can release you on personal recognizance during the arraignment.
Your First Court Appearance
The law stipulates that you be produced in court 24 hours after your apprehension for arraignment. This is usually the first court attendance, where the judge reads out the charges and asks you to plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest.
Your attorney will recommend you plead not guilty to the crime to request bail. It is up to the judge to decide whether to grant or deny bail even though you have a constitutional right to be released on bond pending trial. If you can afford the bond amount and secure release, you can prepare adequately for trial and elevate the chances of a favorable outcome.
Nonetheless, a guilty plea is an acceptance that you were involved in commissioning the alleged crime. The case will move directly from arraignment to sentencing, meaning you will not require bail.
Cases in point where the judge will deny you bail include:
- Existence of proof that you are a flight risk and that you will flee San Diego County once released
- You have been freed in the past but violated the release terms
- There is proof you will interfere with police investigations once released on bail or surety
- You are a risk to the victim of your crime if jailed out
- Evidence that bailing you out will pose a danger to your safety and wellbeing
Bail should only be denied under exceptional situations. Therefore, if you are not happy with being denied your constitutional right, you can appeal the decision with the help of your criminal attorney.
If the judge decides to grant bail, they must decide on the amount to be deposited. When they set bail too high to consolidate the money, you should turn to your Poway bail bonds for bond services.
Posting Poway Bail
You have two options when it comes to bail posting. You can deposit the money or hire a bonds service to do the job.
Even when you can afford the bail money, you are encouraged not to do it yourself and instead go through your surety bond agency. The bondsman will do the heavy work for you, and you will only wait to leave jail.
Arrests are unplanned, and you will likely not have the money to post bail. Consolidating the funds on short notice is also a massive challenge that leaves you with one option: talking to your Poway bail bonds for their services.
Once you have notified your Poway bail bonds of the arrest, they will gather the necessary information to understand your case and commence the jail-out process. Be sure to mention your name, your accusations, and the location you are being detained.
Your case will not always be straightforward. Posting bail will be complicated when you are accused of an offense like vehicular manslaughter, where your vehicle is held as an exhibition. Under the circumstances, you must talk to your surety bond agent to understand what will happen to your car and the action you should take to satisfy the bail requirements to avoid delayed release.
Posting bail is not time-consuming. The process is easy because the authorities do not investigate the source of the money deposited by the jail agency, unlike when you post cash bail. The court will want to know the source of the funds. Investigations will take even weeks, meaning a prolonged stay in jail. However, with the services of an established bond firm, they will access the funds you need to post bail with less scrutiny, and within a few hours, you will be free.
PEN 1275 Bail Holding
Per PC 1275, the prosecutor will decline your bail if they believe the money or property is the proceeds of a crime. The prosecutor, arresting officer, or any other party involved in the arrest or prosecution of the case can put a PEN 1275 hold on your bail. The illegal activities that can result in bail holding include:
- Embezzlement
- Extortion
- Criminal gang activity
- Controlled substance trade
- Theft
Bail is a resource that acts as security and guarantees that you will return to court as instructed by the judge. If the funds used to post the bail were obtained illegally, you would not have problems forfeiting it once freed, increasing the likelihood of jumping bail.
PEN 1275 Proceeding
Once your bail is on hold, the court will schedule a hearing to determine the source of the funds or property and its legitimacy. You will have the burden of proof and must present bank statements, proof of earnings, billing bills, credit card reports, tax returns, and vehicle payment info.
During the proceeding, have your attorney accompany you and invite witnesses to demonstrate the source of your money and give an insight into your financial situation. If you successfully show the court that your funds' source is legitimate, the judge will lift the hold on your bail, allowing you to deposit the funds and leave home.
Even if you leave jail, the hearing will delay your release. Therefore, you are encouraged to rely on your bail bond services for a bailout even when you can afford the bail because they will ensure an early release.
After you are out of jail, you can discuss the service fee. Many San Diego Bond companies charge a 10% flat rate of the total bail. With these predetermined rates, you can begin to plan your payment for the services after bail has been set.
Even if the bail is hefty and you cannot afford the 10%, you should talk to your bond agency to understand their payment plans and financing options. And if you are still struggling to pay the fee after working on a favorable financing option, the bond agency will need you to deposit a property deed as collateral. The agency has used its money to free you from jail and, therefore, must earn money from the services provided.
Poway Bond Revocation
You must understand that before a surety bond pretrial release, the court imposes conditions you must abide by based on the charges you face. When you violate any of these terms, you could face bond revocation.
Although bail is a constitutional right, exploiting the privilege and disobeying court orders can cause the judge to rescind this right. You will have 30 days to present yourself in jail, failure to which your Poway bail bonds will forfeit the funds deposited in court on your behalf. The bond company will turn to your co-signer to recover the money and seize the property used as collateral.
Jail and Courthouse Information
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department
For court hearings, you will attend the following:
San Diego Superior Court
Find an Experienced Surety Bond Agent Near Me
When arrested for a crime, you want bail processed promptly to start preparations for trial. Also, if your release is delayed, you could be transferred to a county jail, whose bail processing could take longer. We are available around the clock at Justice Bail Bonds to speed up your release. If you need bond services in Temecula, CA, call us at 951-445-4155 for a free consultation.
