If the police have arrested someone you care about, it is completely normal for you to be scared for their safety and confused about what steps you need to take next to get them out of jail.
What I will do below is explain what happens after officers make an arrest and what you need to do to make sure the person who is arrested gets released from jail.
The Arrest and Booking
When officers make an arrest, they take the accused to the County Jail where they will hand over the accused to jail staff for booking. Booking is the formal process through which the jail identifies the accused, catalogues and confiscates their belongings, issues them a jail uniform, and assigns them to a bed. Often, the accused will sit in a general holding area for a few hours waiting for the staff to book them in. They will usually have access to a phone in the holding area and this might be the first time you find out that they have been arrested.
After booking, the accused must wait to see a Judge who will set their bond.
What is Bond?
Bond is either a sum of money (Bail Bond) or a promise (Personal Bond) that the accused gives to the Court. The point of posting bond is to ensure that the accused will come back to Court at a later date and resolve the accusation against them. If a defendant posts Bond, then they will remain free from jail until they plea or go to trial.
Most of the time, the judge will require the accused to post a Bail Bond in cash. The accused has the option of posting the entire sum on their own or obtaining a “surety bond” from a licensed bail bonding company.
If the accused or cannot afford to pay the entire bond at once, then they can hire a bonding company to post the entire bond for them in exchange for a smaller fee. This fee is usually 10% of the total bond. The bonding company will keep this fee even if the accused shows up in Court. However, if the accused does not appear in Court, then the bonding company will lose the bond and will expect the person who hired them to reimburse them for the full amount.
If the accused posts bond in full to the Court on their own, then they will receive the full amount back when the case against them is resolved.
It is very common for a spouse, family member, or friend to post bond on the accused’s behalf. Any third-party who agrees to post bond should be aware that they face the possibility of losing the bond money if the accused fails to appear for their court date. A third-party should also be aware that they, not the accused, are entitled to receive the bond back from the Court after the case against the accused is resolved.
The jail staff is usually very helpful in giving people a list of licensed bail bonding companies that they can contact for this service.
When is Bond Set?
Judges usually only set bond during the day. Depending on the time of the arrest, the accused might have to wait in jail overnight until the Judge arrives in the morning. Unfortunately, there is very little that anyone can do to speed up this process.
What Can I do in the Meantime?
While waiting for the Judge to appear, you can start the process of gathering cash to pay the accused’s bond. The jail staff will sometimes give an estimate of what bond usually is for a specific offense but be careful in relying on this information.
This is also the time that you can start the process of hiring an attorney to represent the accused.
If you, a loved one, or a friend have been arrested in Texas, a seasoned criminal defense attorney is a valuable person to have representing the rights of the accused. Please call Carter Criminal Defense today for your free consultation.