If a family member or a friend has been arrested and is being held in custody at the county jail, bail may have to be posted before they are released. Posting bail means giving security, in the form of cash, or sometimes real property, to a court. The court can require bail to ensure that the arrested person (defendant) attends all court appearances. As your criminal defense attorney, we can ensure your bail is fair based on your past behavior and in most cases can keep you out on bail while your case is progressing through the Sacramento court system.

Seeking Bail In Your Criminal Defense

If the defendant doesn’t show up to all their scheduled court appearances, the court will forfeit the bail and issue a warrant for his or her arrest. Also, if the defendant is arrested again while out on bail there could be additional consequences for new cases while out on bail. If the defendant keeps all their court appearances, after the case the bail will be exonerated.

Typically, a friend or family member may pay a bail bond agency up to a 10% premium in exchange for the bail agent posting the full bail amount. In some situations, the premium can be 8%, for example when a private attorney has been retained or someone is a member of a qualifying union. The fee paid to the bail bond agency is the agency’s fee and is non-refundable. If the defendant does not make their court appearances, you and the bail agency will work together to find them. If the defendant is ultimately not found and does not appear in court, you will be responsible for paying the remaining bail amount to the agency.

When the courts are determining the bail amount, they consider factors such as the seriousness of the crime, public safety, any prior arrests or warrants, and the likelihood of the defendant skipping bail. Although serious misdemeanors and all felonies typically require bail, many counties in the Sacramento region release people who have been arrested for minor misdemeanor offenses without requiring bail. In these instances, a person is released after signing a promise to appear in court at future date.

Seeking Release On Your Own Recognizance

A person in custody has the opportunity to appear before a judge and seek a decrease in bail or request a release on their recognizance (“OR”). This is what’s known as a Bail Motion. It is helpful to have a practiced criminal defense attorney guide you through the decision to make a Bail Motion. For example, one risk in making a bail motion is that the bail cost could go up.

In some circumstances, it may be a good idea to post bail quickly without setting a bail motion. Once the decision is made to seek a bail motion, a knowledgeable criminal defense lawyer can assist with gathering the information a judge will consider at a bail hearing on the motion.

Kaizuka Law has the experience to assist with developing and presenting to the court bail conditions that a person will agree to follow if the court decides to reduce bail. An example of typical bail conditions would be an individual with a drug or alcohol problem agreeing to enter a rehab program.