Bail is the financial assurance that you will attend court when required and comply with release conditions. However, sometimes the bail amount can be too high for you to raise; the judge sets bail based on factors such as the severity of the crime, your criminal record, and whether you are a flight risk. If you cannot raise your bail amount, you will remain detained until your case concludes. This article discusses what happens if you cannot post bail and how a bail bondsman can help you.
Jail Housing After Bail Denial
“Restricted housing” refers to various forms of confinement for people in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). CDCR provides a conduct-based housing model that offers suspect programming opportunities in a less restrictive environment while maintaining the institutions’ security and safety.
Under recent reforms, the CDCR is modifying its use of restricted housing. The reforms involve taking significant measures to reduce restricted housing usage to cases where an inmate has committed acts of violence, which pose a threat to the CDCR’s institutions and the security and safety of staff. Furthermore, these reforms could increase access to rehabilitative programming within the settings.
Restricted housing is applied to manage the conduct of defendants who pose a potential risk to themselves or others, or whose conduct disrupts the orderly and safe operations of the correctional facility. The requirements for housing a person in restricted housing depend on that individual’s behavior.
The restricted housing conditions should be as close as possible to those in general population institutions, with similar meals, access to books and reading materials, and clothing.
Individuals in restricted housing can send and get personal mail, make outgoing phone calls, and have non-contact visits. Furthermore, they can receive routine mental health care, including daily visits with a certified psychiatrist and clinical contacts with mental health professionals, as documented in the Mental Health Services Dataset (MHSDS).
Court Timelines and Arraignment Delays
There is no definite answer to how long a criminal case takes. Many factors affect how slow or fast a case takes, including the following:
The Nature of the Crime and Charges
The type of your criminal charge can significantly affect how long your case will take. For instance, a misdemeanor can be resolved within months, while a felony can extend to years, and that is without factoring in the delay between your arrest and the prosecutor’s filing of your charges.
Speedy Trial Legal Rights
Please note that there can be a delay between your arrest and the prosecutor’s filing of your criminal charges. Nevertheless, after the prosecutor charges you with a crime and the criminal process has started, you can invoke your right to a speedy trial. In California, the law enforcement should bring you to trial within sixty days of your arraignment on indictment or information unless there exists good cause for delay. Otherwise, the court should dismiss your criminal charges.
Out-of-Custody vs. In-Custody Suspects
The duration within which you should face trial depends on whether you are in jail. In-custody suspects charged with an infraction or misdemeanor are entitled to face trial within thirty days of pleading not guilty or arraignment. Fifty-five days is the timeframe if you are released on your own recognizance or bail.
Typically, in-custody suspects do not waive time, whereas out-of-custody suspects do. Waiving time means you agree not to enforce your speedy trial rights, giving your defense and the prosecutor more time to work on your criminal case.
Whether you should waive time depends on the circumstances of your criminal case. It can be risky to force the prosecutor to trial before they are ready. It is advisable to take time to prepare your defense and build your case. You should consult your attorney when making this decision. The attorney will weigh the advantages and disadvantages and explain them to you. It is a mistake to rush to trial out of impatience, only to remain detained longer.
Impact on Employment waiving
Here are the implications of failing to make bail:
Individuals detained pending trial cannot earn income while in custody, and their employers could terminate them from their jobs. If the detention is prolonged, your future earning ability also diminishes. If you are self-employed or work in the informal sector, detention can mean bankruptcy, losing your products to theft, or losing your trading spot at the local market.
Even when correctional institutions provide vocational or educational programs, pretrial detainees cannot be considered transient. Being detained for long can result in reduced self-esteem, loss of skills, and the social stigma associated with detention, which can make it an uphill task to secure employment following release.
Impact on Family
Relatives of an incarcerated person are hidden victims of the criminal justice system who are neither heard nor acknowledged. The hidden victims receive little or no support and do not benefit from the systematic societal mechanisms available to direct crime victims.
Children whose parents or guardians are involved in the crime face many challenges, including antisocial conduct, expulsion or suspension from school, criminal activity, economic hardship, and psychological strain. Sometimes, it can be hard to predict how the minor will fare when their parent is continuously or intermittently incarcerated.
While every case is unique and every child responds differently, research has proven that a parent’s incarceration poses many threats to the minor’s educational, financial, emotional, and physical well-being. Here are these risk factors:
- A parent’s imprisonment can result in a cycle of intergenerational criminal conduct.
- Another effect of parental incarceration falls under the umbrella of antisocial conduct, which describes conduct that is against social norms, such as persistent dishonesty and criminal behavior. Exposure to adverse childhood experiences throughout development can put the minor at risk for depression and issues that persist into adulthood, such as suicide attempts and substance abuse.
- Most children with incarcerated parents have limited economic resources available for their support.
- For minors with parents held in detention, their education could be interrupted, with prolonged detention forcing some of these children to assume the roles of providing domestic, emotional, and financial support for other loved ones. The minors may even have to relocate to a new area, home, or school. The disruption can lead to poor school performance and eventual criminal activity.
- If the parent or guardian is a strong support in a minor’s life, the disruption of the child-parent relationship could increase the risk factors discussed above.
How a Bail Bondsman Can Help You
Bail bondsmen act as financial guarantors. They help people who cannot afford the full bail amount to be released from custody. Upon your arrest, the judge sets bail during the arraignment. The amount depends on numerous factors, such as the nature of your charges and criminal record. Nevertheless, the bail amount can run into the tens or hundreds of thousands.
Rather than pay the whole amount upfront, you could partner with a bail bondsman. The bail bondsman will require you to pay 10% of the bail amount as a service fee, and the bail bond company will post a surety bond to the court.
Here are the different ways a bail bondsman can help you:
Speeding Up the Process
When trying to post bail by yourself or a loved one, the process can be slow, or you can be stuck for hours or days without a clue on what to do.
However, using a bail bondsman means you have someone who understands the workings of the legal system well and can do the following:
- Prepare and file the proper paperwork
- Contact the appropriate office and post your bail fast.
Most clients return home within hours, while trying to post bail in cash without professional help may lead to you spending the night in custody.
Zero Issues with Bureaucracy
Legal documentation and jail systems can be confusing. Forms will not cooperate, deadlines elapse, and clerks at the jail get busy, but your bail bondsman handles all the paperwork and calls and makes sure everything is filed accurately, so you can focus on other pressing matters.
Professional Advice
An arrest can be unsettling, and navigating the legal system can be stressful and confusing. A bail bondsman knows what the clerks expect, the procedures at each jail, who to contact, and when to escalate issues. You will receive a step-by-step guide because you have professional help.
Bail Bond Payment Plans
A repayment plan enables you to make a single deposit and pay the remaining balance in several instalments, either weekly or monthly.
Through this type of arrangement, a bail bonds company can help you secure your release promptly, even if you cannot pay the full premium. It turns an overwhelming challenge into an easy-to-manage issue.
The approval procedure when applying for a bail bond repayment plan seeks to assess the level of risk and whether you will honor the repayment contract. You should persuade the bail bonds service provider that you will pay the required premium in full and that you will appear in court when needed. Consequently, the company will review various factors to assess your reliability and creditworthiness.
When making your application, the bail bondsman will evaluate the following:
- Your employment — Bail bondmen do not rely on an applicant’s credit rating as other lenders do, because steady employment is an excellent indicator of whether you can make regular repayments. A stable, verifiable employment history demonstrates that you have a reliable source of income and are financially responsible. Predictability can lower a bail bond company’s perceived risk. A common condition when verifying your employment is to submit recent pay stubs or other similar proof of earnings. The bail bondsmen will also review your employment history and gross monthly earnings.
- Resident of California — To be eligible for a bail bond repayment plan in California, you must be a resident. The residency assures the company of community networks and reduced potential flight risk. Certain charges can automatically make you ineligible for a bail bond, including theft-related offenses, drug-related crimes, and felony possession of a gun or prior strike.
- Collateral — Your bail bonds service provider might require you to provide collateral, especially when your employment history or a co-signer’s qualifications are insufficient or when your bail is set too high. The company could liquidate the asset if you jump bail to recoup the incurred losses. The court will require the bail bondsman to post your bail amount if you fail to appear for the required court hearings. Collateral refers to an item of value used to secure a bail bond. Typical forms of collateral include real estate, automobiles, jewelry, boats, bonds, or stocks.
- Indemnitor (Co-signer) — A critical factor when applying for a payment plan is having an excellent indemnitor. The individual becomes the guarantor of your bail bond agreement. Their responsibilities include ensuring that you pay all necessary payment installments on time, and they agree to make any missed payments. The co-signer also helps you attend your court hearings. If you fail to appear in court, your indemnitor must pay the full bail. To qualify to be a co-signer, the individual should be a California resident with stable employment, verifiable income, and an excellent living situation.
24/7 Availability
An arrest can occur at any time. Therefore, you can contact your bail bond company for assistance around the clock.
Crucial Support
Securing your freedom is not the end of the story. You will have to make court appearances, adhere to pretrial conditions, and attend regular check-ins. To avoid the court issuing a warrant for your arrest, you should obey all pretrial conditions.
The bail bondsman can become your support system, ensuring you make court dates by giving you timely reminders, helping you stay on track, and safeguarding you from unforeseen liability.
Find a Reliable Bail Bondsman Near Me
“What happens if someone does not make bail in California?” is a question you do not want to learn to answer the hard way. Balboa Bail Bonds can help you secure your release promptly so that you can return to your work and family. We can also offer you a flexible payment plan option if you cannot afford to raise the required premium. Please call us at 619-760-2222 to learn more about our services and how we can help you.
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