Bail
No one wants to stay in jail.
After you are arrested the prosecutor must file charges
and bring you to court within 48 hours or set you free.
You have two options:
- post bail immediately;
- wait until your arraignment when you or your lawyer
can ask that you be released on your own recognizance
or that the court reduce the bail.
For purposes of setting bail, the court is required
to assume the charges filed against you are true, pursuant
to Penal Code Section 1275.
The two main concerns of the court in granting or denying
bail are the protection of the public and the probability
that you will show up for the next hearing. Accordingly,
the judge will look at whether weapons or violence were
involved and the court will ask about your ties to the
community, including employment, family history, and
length of residency.
To post bail, you have three choices:
- Post the full bail
- Pay 10% of the bail amount to a bail bondsman to post
the full bail
- Post a Property Bond, placing a lien against your house
or car, as long as the assets are worth twice the amount
of the bail. This process can take up to a week.
A good lawyer can help you with non-bail alternatives
such as supervised OR (own recognizance) and sometimes
he can secure your release subject to your agreeing
to chemical testing, unannounced searches and seizures,
and perhaps other conditions.
Contact the Law Offices of Douglas
Slain, or call 707-658-4437
to retain a criminal defense attorney.
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