California Bail Bond Laws
Who Is Eligible For Bail In California.
The US Constitution under the 6th, 8th and 14th amendment allows for persons arrested the ability in most cases the right to bail out while awaiting trial in California. California Bail laws are superceded by these US Amendments and need to take these into consideration.
In California they have a couple of types of bonds like OR which is own Reconnaissance this you would find for the least serious crimes like misdemeanors first offence DUI with out accident or injury and some non violent felonies. then there are the cash bonds which need some sort of money held
The main determinate for US federal law as well as California law is flight risk, and now has been expanded to danger to the community. The federal laws which many states including California are emulating, also take into account serious drug offences, sex crimes and repeat offenders and the length of time for a conviction.
For instance for crimes where the maximum term is Life in prison the bail if granted in LA County is 1 million dollars, because the time is so long, there is a much higher likelihood that the judge will not grant bail. It needs to be said that if you are not allowed bail at the initial arraignment you might be granted bail later when more facts and evidence are presented to the judge and it could also go the other way especially if the person on bail is making threats.
Some things that you can do are go for counseling for anger drugs or alcohol and just going might no be enough, you need to really show that you are doing something about your problem. Active participation with someone who will go to bat for you in a court of law, we have seen many times that they getter a better result.
For these more serious crimes the judge may determine that you are too dangerous to the community and lf that if you were released no mater the size of the bail that you would flee, also taken into consideration is whether or not that you have skipped bail previously.
A short discretion of how it works a judge decides the type of bail and bail amount you need to come up with, so many times the person in jail or their family will hire a bail bondsman to post bail and they will charge you as per California law 10% as there fee. they can also charge you for additional costs so if you skip bail they can hire a bounty Hunter to look for you and bill you for the addition costs they can also charge you for things needed for the recovery of the bail jumper for things like long distance phone calls, travel expenses and other things needed for your case.
In Southern California in LA County they have a Bail Schedule which details what the bail amount should be there are of course several criteria that also need to be taken into account but the opening paragraphs below should offer some insights to those interested and the complete schedule can be found at http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org/bail/
LOS ANGELES COUNTY
2010 Felony Bail Schedule
HOW TO USE THIS BAIL SCHEDULE
(1) The purpose of this bail schedule is to fix an amount upon which a person who
is arrested without a warrant may be released from custody prior to appearance in
court. At and after a defendant's first appearance, pursuant to Penal Code section
1269b(b), the amount of bail, if any is allowed, shall lie with the sound discretion of
the judicial officer before whom the defendant appeared, and may be greater or less
than the amount set forth in this schedule, subject to the provisions of Penal Code
section 1275. This schedule may also be used by a magistrate in fixing bail pursuant
to Penal Code section 815a at the time an arrest warrant is issued, the amount of
which lies with the sound discretion of the magistrate.
(2) Bail for an offense pursuant to this schedule shall be the sum of the amount
specifically listed for the offense (pages 3-16), and the amounts listed for all
applicable enhancements and prior convictions (page 17). If an offense is not
specifically listed in this schedule, bail should be set according to the following
schedule based on the maximum state prison term applicable to the offense:
TOP TERM 3 YEARS .............................20,000
TOP TERM 4 YEARS .............................25,000
TOP TERM 5 YEARS .............................30,000
TOP TERM 6 YEARS .............................35,000
TOP TERM 7 YEARS .............................40,000
TOP TERM 8 YEARS .............................45,000
TOP TERM 9 YEARS .............................50,000
TOP TERM 10 YEARS ...........................55,000
TOP TERM 11 YEARS ............................. 65,000
TOP TERM 12 YEARS ............................. 70,000
TOP TERM 13 YEARS ............................. 75,000
TOP TERM 14 YEARS ............................. 80,000
TOP TERM 15 YEARS ............................. 90,000
TOP TERM 16 YEARS ........................... 100,000
ALL LIFE SENTENCES....................... 1,000,000
(3) When a defendant is booked for or charged with two or more offenses, bail
shall be the amount computed under this schedule for the charge having the highest
bail, including applicable amounts for enhancements and prior convictions except:
(1) where the offenses are committed against separate victims or on separate dates,
or (2) where separate sex acts are committed on the same victim and each may be
punished separately (including circumstances enumerated in Penal Code sections
667.6(c) and (d)). In addition, amounts for enhancements and prior convictions shall
each be added one time per person arrested, per defendant, or per case.
(4) The Bail Deviation Program is available to process all bail increase and
decrease requests for persons who have been arrested (other than pursuant to an
arrest warrant) but not arraigned. All requests to increase or decrease bail should be
called in at (213) 351-0373 or (800) 773-5151. The Program’s hours of operation are
6:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m.
(5) Penal Code Section 1270.1 prohibits the release of an arrestee on bail in an
amount OTHER THAN THAT SET FORTH IN THIS BAIL SCHEDULE prior to a hearing
in open court for:
(a) Violent felonies as described in P.C. Section 667.5(c), but not 460(a);
(b) Serious felonies as described in P.C. Section 1192.7(c) (including those
listed in P.C. Section 1192.8);
2
(c) Violations of P.C. Sections 136.1(c), 243(e)(1), 262, 273.5, 422 (as a felony),
and 646.9; and
(d) Violation of P.C. Section 273.6 if the detained person made threats to kill or
harm, has engaged in violence against, or has gone to the residence or
workplace of, the protected party.DUI DWI OWI Laws & Penalities
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This is not legal advise. We are not lawyers. If you have a question take it to a licensed attorney.