What Happens after Your Loved One Gets Arrested?

Posted on: 10 November 2015

When your loved one gets arrested, there is a whole process that they must go through in order to get out of jail before their trial date if they can. 

Arraignment

The arraignment is the first court appearance that your loved one will make. At their arraignment, several things will happen. The first is that a list of charges will be read out against your loved one. They will be given the chance to plead guilty or not guilty. After their plea, several things can happen. One is that the judge will release them on their recognizance. This means that your loved one signs a paper that says they will appear at court at a set date. This is more likely to happen for people who have really tight community bonds, who have committed minor crimes, or who are first offenders. Another option is that the judge will decide that your loved one has to stay in jail until their trial date. A third option is that your loved one can get bail. 

Bail

When bail is set for your loved one, the judge declares a certain amount of money that it will take for them to get out of jail. This money acts as a surety that your loved one will show back up for their court date. If they do, then the money is returned. If not, the money that gets put up for bail is forfeit. Depending on what the bail is, you and your loved one may not be able to pay the full amount. When that happens, you can go see a bail bondsman. 

When you seek the services of a bondsman, you go and give them a deposit, usually a percentage of the bail. That deposit could be cash, or it could be in property. For example, you may put up a house or business as surety for your loved one. The bail bondsman then goes to the jail and posts bond for your loved one and gets your loved one out of jail. If your loved one doesn't appear in court when they are supposed to, the bondsman may send someone to find them and take them to court. If that happens, your loved one probably won't be able to get bail again. In addition, your deposit will be forfeit. If you put up property, you may lose that property. 

When your loved one gets arrested, you need to know what is going to happen. Being prepared can help you to stay as calm as possible and get your loved one what they need. For more information about bail bonds, hop over to this site.

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