Everyone enjoys and yearns for freedom. Even so, we could still run into trouble, which would ultimately lead to an arrest. During such a situation, the first thought that springs into your mind is regaining your freedom. What steps can you take to stay out of jail? The state laws have made provisions through court bails.
While this would appear to be a convenient option, it could perhaps be disastrous if neither the accused nor his/her family and friends can raise the necessary funds. If you or a loved one is arrested in Claremont, get in touch with Alomar Bail Bonds for assistance with posting bail. Your release will happen considerably faster and conveniently because you won't need to wait for the bail bond agent to show up in person.
What is Bail?
For some cases, a written ticket to appear in court is inadequate, and therefore the jury would want a guarantee for your attendance. Bail is a way of getting discharged from police custody by depositing a certain amount of money to the court. According to the release, you pledge to show up in court on the scheduled date. You will get your bail money back if you follow through on your word. If you fail to appear in court, the bail-jumping clause stands, and you would be arrested and the bail is forfeited.
It's rather common to engage with organizations that support the physical processing of your bail. However, several agencies are now offering similar services online as a result of technological advancement. You won't have to commute to different locations to access these services if you choose this method of processing bail. There are mechanisms in place that allow you to complete and sign the necessary paperwork online. Transferring payments to the appropriate courts is likewise seamless, with several payment platforms used to transmit the bail bond amount to the relevant court departments.
The judges would also impose conditions on the bail bond that the defendant must consent to before being freed. The most common demand is that the arrested individual must agree to routine meetings with a probation or rehabilitation officer. Another common requirement is that the parties consent to comply with the requirements of the restraining order or any other type of protective order.
Different bail amounts are set for various charges, with more serious offenses requiring higher cash payments. Judges have the discretion to modestly increase or decrease the bail amount required, but they're usually compelled to adhere to the bond amounts set on the bond schedule. A bail schedule specifies the amount of bond that must be paid for specific categories of purported offenses. California doesn't have a nationwide bail schedule, instead, each county establishes its bail schedule. In Los Angeles County, there is a bond schedule for a misdemeanor and a felony. You can look them up to get an idea of the bail bond amounts for various offenses.
Claremont Bail Bonds
A bail bond is a declaration made on behalf of a defendant by a bond company that is submitted to the court and guarantees that they will appear in court as scheduled, up through and including trial. This company assures the jury that they will pay the whole bond amount if the defendant misses any hearings, including trial.
Therefore, the surety bond firm has a personal interest in ensuring that you uphold their "bond" by attending all court hearings. Therefore, in exchange for the assurances to the court and the opportunity to leave free before settling the entire bond amount, you would pay the bail bond firm a non-refundable fee, which is normally 10% of the overall cost of the bail required by the bail schedule.
If you are released from custody on bond, you must show up in court for all hearings, including trial. If you do not appear in court, the bail bond firm would invalidate your bail and return you to jail. To avoid being incarcerated again, it is vital to strictly adhere to all demands and court hearings while working with a professional Claremont bail bond firm. A bail bond agent will ask the individual procuring the bail bond for specific personal information and the type of crime the accused allegedly perpetrated to create the contract necessary to initiate the bail bond process. The agent would then do a background check on the defendant to determine whether the accused is likely to appear before a judge based on recent conduct.
If the findings from the background check are satisfactory, the bail agent would finalize the contract and seek funding to pay for a percentage of the total bail amount. Additionally, the bail agent could ask the individual procuring the bail bond for collateral.
Once the settlement has been fulfilled, the bail bond agency would send a certified bail bond agent to the facility where the bail amount should be deposited. The certified bail agent will clear the full bail sum specified in the bond schedule and finish any paperwork necessary to ensure the defendant's release. This entire process can be easily completed online at any moment.
The Arrest Process
When someone is arrested and taken into police custody, the first action that follows is that they get booked. The law enforcement officers will take these actions:
- Prepare a detailed list of your personal information like your full name, date of birth, and physical traits to name a few
- Take account the details and specifics of the alleged offense
- Keep your photos and fingerprint records
- Check to find if you have any criminal record
- You will be searched and any personal goods such as phones, keys, or handbags will be confiscated (to be returned upon parole)
- Place you in a detention facility, such as a municipal jail or police station
Booking takes roughly an hour, although it could take much longer if there are a large number of individuals to register at a detention center with insufficient personnel. After the booking is complete, the case is sent to the district attorney's office. Within 48 hours of booking, the prosecutor and his/her team should decide whether to pursue the case and what type of charges to bring. However, the set deadline is routinely missed.
Assume you've been apprehended and accused of a minor offense like a traffic violation, petty crime, or a misdemeanor. In that instance, most law enforcement officers will issue the accused a written citation and release him or her after getting their signature and swearing to appear in court on the designated date and time. If not, the accused risks being arrested and having bail set for him or her at the police station.
You would still get your release whether you agree to the written ticket or go through the bail procedures. In both circumstances, the law enforcement agencies or prosecutor will notify you of the court date and time for your arraignment.
Types of Bail Bonds
The following are the types of bail bonds used in Claremont:
Property Bonds
If you can't afford cash bail or don't want to pay it in full, you could use your property as security to obtain your release from detention. The only drawback is that, in some circumstances, you would have to use someone else's property, and that individual would occasionally oppose the hold being placed on his or her property. In such circumstances, the courts will revoke the bond and send you back to detention until a new bail is set.
Keep in mind that the value of the property must be higher than the cost of the bail. This excess is required to ensure that all costs involved with holding the property are catered for. It could take several days or even weeks to get released from detention with a property bail since the process is difficult and time-consuming. Despite all the drawbacks, it can help you save money as long as you don't violate the bail terms. You run the risk of permanently losing your possessions or property if you forfeit the bail. It should be noted that the property in use doesn't have to be the accused's for the courts to acknowledge it. Nonetheless, there are certain exceptions, as you will see in the next sections.
Property bonds are frequently used in situations involving undocumented immigrants since they require defendants to stay in the country to complete their legal obligations. Be advised that obtaining a property bail bond is a more challenging and time-consuming means of getting your loved one released on security, as it requires the completion of substantially more printed material before securing a release. It is not recommended for people seeking a quick and smooth release.
Cash Bonds
Most people pay their bail obligations in cash. Since nobody can predict or plan for an arrest, raising the requisite amount could be difficult. Friends or family members would come to your rescue to secure your discharge. Even so, you should proceed with caution if you choose this option.
At such a time, you're facing allegations of a purported crime. Unfortunately, securing a release on bond is only the first step on your path to freedom. For this reason, you should factor in your costs for additional necessities like hiring a seasoned criminal defense lawyer. Even if you're financially secure, you should consider these costs because your bail refund would take a while to arrive. Before settling for cash bail bonds, you could look into more affordable options like the usage of property bonds or surety bonds.
Personal Recognizance Release
If the court finds that you're an "upstanding citizen" who can be trusted to be discharged without posting bail, you would be set free on your recognizance. This is rare, but possible if you don't have any criminal record, have worked and lived in the community for a considerable amount of time, and have outstanding character witnesses. If you lack the funds, property, or anyone to bail you out of police custody, or if you are unable to secure your discharge on personal recognizance, you could always engage a professional bail bond firm. Bail bonds come into play in such situations.
Bond Revocation
It's important to have in mind that if a defendant disobeys the court's orders, then his or her bail would not be guaranteed. A safeguard could be rejected for several reasons. Judges often revoke an accused's bail if they have grounds to believe someone would not follow the court's orders. These include failing a medical exam, posing a flight risk, being accused of an additional crime, failing to appear before a judge on time, and failing to report to the court every week.
Securing bail release is a legally protected right. If the defendant exploits the privilege and disregards the court's directives, the judge has the authority to rescind the privileges. In this case, the defendant must return to police custody within 30 days, and his or her co-signer is responsible for paying the entire bond amount.
If an accused's security is rejected by a co-endorser or the judge, it would be returned once the defendant is sent to a detention center. Although the mandatory 10% fee would not be reimbursed to the co-endorser, any money or property that exceeds that amount would be. The process of releasing a bail bond amount could take between thirty to sixty days, based on the courts and how quickly the written paperwork is prepared. As previously stated, the law enforcers or prosecution could refuse bail paid by friends or family in certain circumstances. Sometimes, they would do this under the PC 1275 Hold on Bail provisions, which applies to property.
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PC 1275 Hold on Bail
According to California's PC 1275.1, the prosecutor would not acknowledge bail if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the property or money used to settle the bail amount were obtained illegally. This is also known as a PC 1275 Hold.
Provisions of PC 1275 state that any person engaged in the apprehension or legal proceedings has the authority to place holds on bail. This implies that they believe the money used to bail the defendant out of detention was obtained illegally. Funds can be obtained through gang-related activities, extortion, drug trade, theft, or embezzlement. Any of these acts would exclude the funds from being used in settling the bail amount.
Bail is a monetary surety that a defendant would attend court for all proceedings related to his or her charges. The court assumes that if illegal money is used to pay bail, the offender would not worry about the money if they're freed on bail.
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PC 1275 Hearings
When a PC 1275 Hold is placed on a defendant's bail, the courts would hold a hearing to determine whether the accused obtained the funds required to cover the bail illegally. To prove that the money is "clean," the defendant posting bail would have to present bank and credit card statements, car payment information, billing bills, tax returns, as well as proof of income during his or her PC 1275 Hearing.
It is strongly advised that you bring along an attorney and a bail bond agent with you to a PC 1275 Hold hearing. You could also invite a witness who can attest to your source of income and provide more information about your financial situation.
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Taking out a PC 1275 Hold
As soon as the judge concludes that you didn't obtain the finances used to settle your bail amount through illegal methods, the judge would lift the PC 1275 Hold and allow you to deposit the bond.
The Cost of Claremont Bail Bonds
The bail amount necessary to obtain an individual's release from custody can be calculated using a felony bond worksheet.
You should complete the following actions:
- Create a list of all the accusations leveled at the offender.
- Find the charge on the bail schedule that has a huge bail amount.
- If the alleged perpetrator is charged with multiple crimes on different dates or against multiple victims, keep track of the bail expenses for each case and include them in the original charge.
- Next, assess whether any changes warrant a bail increase. Here are a few instances of enhancements:
- Gang-related offenses
- Crimes involving the use of a firearms
- Does the defendant have any prior convictions on his or her record?
- Has the defendant been jailed within the last 5 years?
- Is the perpetrator older than 65 or younger than 15?
After you've identified all of the primary enhancements and charges, add them all up to determine the total amount of bail required to get the defendant out of custody.
Claremont Jails and Courts
The Claremont City Jail Department runs its Type-1 jail, which employs five full-time Jailers. Similar to other Municipal law enforcement departments in Los Angeles county, each makes use of a Type-1 jail to book and detain people who have been arrested for offenses for up to 96 hours until they are brought before a judge and handed over to the LA County Sheriff's Department. The Claremont jail can hold up to 18 individuals who are watched over, taken care of, and fed by the jail personnel who are on duty around-the-clock, seven days a week. This is the Jail address:
Claremont Jail, City Jail
For all your court proceedings, you will attend the sessions at:
Superior Court of California
Find a Claremont Bail Bonds Agent Near Me
If you are facing charges for any offense, it's important to have your bail processed as soon as possible. This is due to the possibility that you could be moved to a county jail, where a delay in your bail process could occur. Our professionals at the Alomar Bail Bonds are always available and ready to handle your bail bond process at affordable rates. If you need a bail bond service in Claremont, CA, feel free to contact us right away at 626-449-4118.