Are you in custody and do not have money to bail yourself out? Do not worry; this is where Huntington Beach bail bonds come in handy. The bondsmen at Exit Bail Bonds can help you get out so that you can return to work and other everyday responsibilities as well as take care of your loved ones. For many years, we have assisted people like you in Huntington Beach post bail in a single payment.
Definition of Bail
Bail is the money you pay to a court of law so that you can be released from police custody or jail. It's a method of guaranteeing the court that you shall attend all your hearings. Sometimes the judge could release a defendant on their own recognizance. If released on O.R, you do not post bail. Instead, you make a promise that you shall appear in court.
Also, depending on the case circumstances and the offense committed, the court could deny you an opportunity to pay bail. Nevertheless, bail is often required.
The bail amount varies, hinging on the offense committed. On top of that, California has a bail schedule set forth for every offense.
However, it is within the judge's discretion to set bail. The law allows the judge to diverge from the bail schedule depending on:
- The defendant's criminal history
- Circumstances of the case
- Whether the defendant is a flight risk
In most cases, posting bail can significantly affect your finances. Therefore, it is advisable to request an own recognizance release or bail hearing to lessen the burden.
Bail Hearing
A bail hearing allows a defendant to request the court to either eliminate bail by releasing them on their O.R or reduce their bail amount set.
Reducing Bail Amount
The law not only permits the judge to set bail amount but also eliminate or alter it. When deciding whether to modify a bail, the following factors are put into consideration:
- Ability to post the bail
- How serious is the involved crime?
- Were any drugs or weapons used
- Was any person injured, and if so, how severe are the injuries?
- Did you threaten the victim?
- Your previous criminal history
- Are you a risk to public safety?
- Your likelihood of attending all court proceedings
- Do you have connections in your community, like business interests or property?
If accused of a serious felony, the court will not lower the bail under the set bail amount except when the judge finds unusual circumstances or good cause.
The term ''change in circumstances'' does not mean that the judge made a legal flaw or failed to review your case correctly. Instead, it means a variation in a defendant's situation, facts of the case, or in court proceedings. Also, it doesn't comprise of the fact that:
- The accused showed up in court, and
- That the accused has not any other law, but instead
- There has been an alteration in the circumstances, established by new evidence
If a defendant has not posted their bail (and they are detained), they are entitled to a bail review hearing before 5 days from the date when their bail was set ends.
In case the crime involved is a serious felony, violent felony, a violation of domestic violence laws, or a violation of a restraining order, you should issue the prosecution team with a notice of the plans to ask for a bail reduction. The notice should be issued two days before the bail review hearing. It gives the prosecutor a chance to object to the reduction.
Raising Your Bail Amount
When seeking a bail amount reduction, the prosecution could present details that the judge did not know, like parole violation or breaking of probation terms. Therefore, it is advisable to pay your bail without starting a hearing if you're parole or probation. Often, if the judge learns you are on probation or parole before paying the bail, they will hold the release.
Nonetheless, should you get released before the judge gets that info, the probation or parole officer could permit you to stay out of custody, pending the result of the case.
In case the court raises the bail amount above what you can manage to pay, it's within the judge’s power to do so except when they have abused the discretion. The fact that you cannot afford to post the bail does not mean your bail is extremely excessive, or the judge has abused the discretion. It means you'll have to stay in police custody.
Releasing a Defendant on Their Own Recognizance
As long as you are not accused of an offense which carries death as a penalty, you can request the court to release you on O.R. You are entitled to an own recognizance release if your release will:
- You will attend all your future attendance in the court hearing, or
- Not endanger public safety.
Can Agreeing to Bail Conditions Reduce Your Bail Amount?
Any competent defense lawyer will suggest proposing bail terms to the judge. If you agree to the conditions, an unyielding judge may be convinced to lower the bail amount or release you on an O.R release.
These conditions could include:
- Travel restriction
- Surrendering your driver's license
- Surrendering your passport
- Enrolling in a treatment facility
- Putting on a GPS tracking gadget
- Putting on a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) monitoring gadget
The judge should not impose a condition that breaks your legal or constitutional rights.
Posting Bail
Discussed below are three common methods of posting bail in California, namely:
Property Bond
Sometimes, it is financially beneficial to post a property bond. Or, there are instances when a defendant does not have enough money to pay the set bail amount. In these scenarios, the judge will allow you to post a property like real estate as bail.
Posting a property bail means you have pledged the asset's value to the court as an assurance that you will go to court when ordered. It is worth noting that you will lose the asset if you skip bail.
In the state of California, the asset should have equity more than one hundred and fifty percent of the bail amount.
Before the judge accepts the asset as your bail, the judge should first set a hearing to determine both the asset's legal ownership and current market value.
Cash Bail
In order, to be released on cash bail, you should post the whole bail amount. You can post by cash with the court's clerk or cashier, personal check, money order, traveler's check.
If you appear in court for all the court proceedings, you will be refunded the entire amount within sixty (60) to ninety (90) days after the criminal case is concluded. Should you skip bail, the court will forfeit the whole bail amount.
Suspicious Cash Bail
Should the court or prosecution team think that you feloniously got the bail, the judge will not release you. Instead, they will schedule a hearing to solve the matter. Feloniously obtaining bail means through unlawful conduct or transaction which constitutes a California felony. The court believes that you are less likely to appear in court if bail was feloniously acquired or is an expense of criminal business.
Consequently, you should present proof that the bail was legally acquired. If you prove, the judge will accept your bail. If you fail to, the judge won't accept the bail and could even raise it as a consequence.
On that note, it is advisable to use a bondsman even though you can afford the entire bail amount. That way, you will be able to keep a low profile, particularly if you're accused of selling narcotics.
Bail Bonds
This is the most commonly used method to secure a release. Also known as bonds agents, bondsmen post the defendant's bail in return for a ten percent (10%) non-refundable premium. For instance, if the bail amounts to twenty thousand dollars, the accused will pay the bail agent two thousand dollars.
Additionally, most bail bonding firms require collateral (a valuable asset that guarantees the company that you will not run away). If you skip town, the bondman will either keep or sell the collateral.
How Long Does It Take to Get Released After Posting Bail?
There is no standard answer to this question. Sometimes, the release can be immediately the defendants post their Huntington Beach bail bonds. However, it is worth remembering that every case is unique, and the release can even take place after twelve hours.
Just like the booking process, so is the process to release a person from custody. Numerous factors might delay your release. They include:
- The number of defendants in the query
- Where you fall in the query
- How busy is the jail that day?
- How many staff are available at the moment?
- The size of the jurisdiction
After all the paperwork is processed, the officer will double-check that there are no outstanding warrants for your arrest.
What Happens if You Jump Bail?
Also known as bail skipping, jumping bail is failing to show up in court when you are supposed to.
It is a California offense. If your underlying offense was a California misdemeanor, jumping bail is deemed as a misdemeanor. Before being convicted of this crime, the prosecutor should establish that you planned to evade the court process. If found guilty, you face six months in jail and one thousand dollars in fines.
If released on your own recognizance for a felony charge, you'll be charged with a felony FTA that carries a jail or prison sentence and a fine of $ 5,000. If your skipping bail involves a California felony where you paid bail, the fine rises from $5,000 to $10,000.
In both scenarios, the judge will issue a bench warrant for your arrest regardless of whether you were released on O.R or not.
If the defendant used a cash bail, they would lose the whole bail amount to the court, so is the bondsman who posted your bail bond.
If you placed collateral for your bond, the bonding company will sell the asset to recover the money it has lost to the court. If there was no collateral used, the bondsman will use a bounty hunter to locate you.
Bounty hunters are awarded a portion of the entire Huntington Beach bail bonds provided they apprehend the defendants. They have the power to arrest the defendants and take them back to the jail from which they fled.
Nonetheless, in California, the judge may vacate the forfeiture order and exonerate your bond if you go to court before six months from the date of bail forfeiture lapses. You should have a realistic excuse like:
- Injuries
- Insanity
- You were disabled
- A severe health condition that is proved by a medical statement or report
- You were in detention
Bail Refund
You are entitled to receive a full refund of your bail once your case is concluded, provided you complied with all bail conditions. The refund depends on the jail in which you paid the bail and type of bail used. If you used a property bond, the court will release the lien on the asset, which can take several weeks to conclude. In a federal court, a defendant should file a petition with the court requesting the release of the bail.
If you used a bondsman, the bondsman should return your collateral or the lien used as security once the case is closed. However, the agent's fee (ten percent of the Huntington Beach bail bonds) isn't refunded no matter the case's outcome.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Defendant Travel While on Huntington Beach Bail Bonds?
Occasionally when arrested and released on bail, you've travel plans. However, traveling while on bail comes with a stigma that you might be trying to jump bail. Well, the travel restrictions vary with charges and cases.
You need to inform your criminal defense attorney and bondsman about your travel plans to another state. Typically, interstate travel is allowed as long as you weren't released on federal bonds. A federal bond is essential when charged with a federal offense like drug trafficking across state borders or human trafficking.
When released on this type of bond, your travel is limited to a particular area within your state. You can sometimes get a temporary exemption from the court. However, to get the request granted, you will be required to go through your lawyer or bondsman.
Another group of persons who might find their travel at stake are those considered flight risk or have a history of jumping bail. As previously noted, surrendering your passport is one of the bail conditions. Usually, these restrictions are set when the defendant is charged with an offense that carries severe penalties.
What Transpires if You Go Directly to the Court After Skipping Bail?
Showing up in court instead of being apprehended on a bench warrant is the least embarrassing and most effective method to clear the bench warrant. However, unless you are prepared to be put into police custody, it's recommended to go with your criminal defense attorney.
Even though you have a satisfactory excuse for failing to appear in court, the odds are the judge will not buy your explanation. Any experienced defense attorney knows the steps, evidence, and arguments to persuade the judge to recall the warrant and release you on O.R. For instance, the attorney could claim that you did not receive the notice to appear in court because it was sent to your previous address.
Find a Bail Bonds Agent Near Me
Sometimes, you might find yourself in legal trouble when you are not in a position to post bail. That is where Huntington Beach bail bonds become essential. When it looks like the law is at odds with justice, Exit Bail Bonds can secure your release discreetly so that you can return to work. Do not waste time worrying about the next step, instead call us now at 951-788-1722.