Bail
Bail is the amount of money paid to the court for a defendant’s temporary release from jail pending trial. A judge sets the bail amount in accordance with the severity of the offense and any concerns about flight risk or danger to society. This can call for you to hire a bail bondsman to post the bail for you prior to your trial date. However, if you need a reliable bail bondsman to help you out, try contacting Freedom Libertad San Angelo’s Bail Bonds as early as possible. This will help you from facing more significant consequences from failure to post bail immediately. Here are some of the things that you can expect when failing to post bail immediately.
Jail Time
If you do not post bail on the day of your arraignment, you will be taken to a jail where you await trial. If convicted at trial, the judge can impose a sentence of up to 1 year in jail for each count or charge. However, if you are out of state or in federal custody and were initially charged in state court, the court will notify your family that you are in jail. If you posted the full amount of bail, you would have a post-it note on your file saying that you were released on bail, and you can contact an attorney.
Penalties
If you are considered for bail but don’t post bail, you will be subject to penalties. Penalties vary depending on the bail amount not posted. However, in all cases, the penalties are considerably more severe if bail had been posted as soon as requested. Some states use a bail schedule, which assigns penalties depending on how much bail is not posted.
Civil Resourse and Liability
Being arrested and not being able to pay bail can have a negative impact on your future relationships, career opportunities, and earning potential. This is because there is often a criminal record created when you are arrested for a crime. If you don’t post bail, this record will not go away. In addition, if you don’t post bail after being arrested, it may drastically increase the severity of the charges against you if you’re convicted. How this is done varies based on state and federal laws.
Attend Court
In this situation, it is in your best interest to attend court as soon as possible. Since the court is aware that you are a flight risk, they will be more understanding of your circumstances if you have a lawyer at the proceedings. If you miss court, your bond amount will likely increase, and you’ll be ordered to continue to report to the court. So it pays to make sure that you show up for your court date on time.
Release on Your Own Recognizance (ROR)
If you fail to post bail immediately, you will be held in jail until the trial date. While there, you will be placed in an individual cell and limited to the same basic rules and regulations as you would if you were awaiting trial in a courtroom. However, you will be allowed to make calls and possibly be allowed to have supervised visits from family and friends. The period for you to stay in jail will depend on when your trial date was set for and the severity of your offense. Since there could be a chance that you may not even be convicted, it is crucial to stay in jail until the trial is over.
Ask Your Bondsman for a Payment Plan
When you hire a bondsman, you must ask if they have a payment plan of some sort. This type of plan will allow you to pay for your bail in installments with a piece rate that stays proportional to the amount of money you’re able to pay. This can be difficult because it’s unlikely for anyone to have that much money lying around at any time.
But bondsmen will be willing to set up a monthly payment plan or even bi-weekly payments that you can make. Keep in mind that this option has its own risks and should only be used when necessary.
Failing to post bail immediately will usually have a negative impact on your future relationships, career opportunities, and earnings potential. Therefore, it is important that you get in touch with a licensed bondsman as soon as possible. Not only will they help you with this process, but they can also help you minimize the consequences of not being able to pay your bail.
