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How
Bail Works
The
Criminal Case Process
Generally,
when a person is arrested, the police
officer submits an arrest report to the
district attorney for review. If
arrested, you should follow the six
steps outlined on the accompanying page.
The DA will review the case and if he or
she feels that the officer has
sufficient proof of the crime, charges
will be filed and the case will be ready
for prosecution.
At
this point, there are five release
options. There are five release options
available are: cash bond, surety bond,
property bond, own recognizance (O.R.),
and citation release.
Cash
Bond: To be released on
cash bail, someone must post with the
court the total amount of the bail, in
cash. The purpose of this is to secure
his or her return to court on an
appointed date, and thereafter until the
case is concluded. If the defendant
shows up for his/her scheduled court
appearances, the cash is returned to
him/her. If s/he fails to appear, the
cash bond is forfeited to the court.
Surety
Bond: An alternative to cash
bail is the posting of a surety bond.
This process involves a contractual
undertaking guaranteed by an admitted
insurance company having adequate assets
to satisfy the face value of the bond.
The bail agent guarantees to the court
that they will pay the bond forfeiture
if a defendant fails to appear for their
scheduled court appearances. The bail
agent’s guarantee is made through a
surety company and/or by the pledge of
property owned by the agent.
Call
Cornerstone Bail for more information 877
7 MY BAIL.
Property
Bond: In rare cases an
individual may obtain release from
custody by means of posting a property
bond with the court. Here the court
records a lien on property, to secure
the bail amount. If the arrestee
subsequently fails to appear at the
scheduled court date, the court may
institute foreclosure proceedings
against the property to obtain the
forfeited bail amount.
Own
Recognizance (O.R.): Another
method of release pending trial is
through a county or law enforcement
administered pre-trial release program.
Usually, the staff members of these
programs interview individuals in
custody and make recommendations to the
court regarding release of these
individuals on their own recognizance
(i.e., without any financial security to
insure the interviewee's return).
Citation
Release: This procedure, known
as the "Cite Out", involves
the issuance of a citation by the
arresting officer to the arrestee,
informing the arrestee that he or she
must appear at an appointed court date.
The Cite Out usually occurs immediately
after an individual is arrested. Such an
arrestee’s appearance in court depends
exclusively upon the integrity of the
arrestee and his or her voluntarily
returning to court.
Once
released, he will have to appear in
court for an arraignment (usually 2- 4
weeks from the date of release). If the
defendant remains in custody, he will be
transported to court by the county or
city facility in which he is detained.
The
Arraignment
In
criminal cases the first appearance is
the arraignment. The defendant will be
asked to acknowledge his identity. The
defendant may have private counsel
present or the court may appoint a
public defender. The defendant may be
told his possible punishment.
Misdemeanors
• If
charged with a misdemeanor the defendant
is required to reply to the written
charges with a plea of either guilty,
not guilty or nolo contendere (no
contest). The judge will set the
defendant’s tentative appearance
schedule. Bail is established according
to the county’s bail schedule. The
defendant has a right to argue for a
bail reduction. If the defendant pleads
guilty at the arraignment, the judge may
sentence him or her at that time.
•If
the defendant does not plead guilty at
the arraignment, a pre-trial conference
will probably be scheduled at which time
plea negotiations are discussed along
with witnesses and strengths/weaknesses
of the case.
•The
next step is the trial (by judge or
jury) at which pretrial motions and
issues of fact are decided.
•If
the defendant is found guilty the court
will then impose a sentence on the
defendant that could range from a fine,
community service, counseling, jail
time, a diversion program, substance
abuse treatment, or a combination of
these.
Felony
Cases
•If
charged with a felony, the defendant may
or may not be required to reply with a
plea at the initial arraignment. (The
policy of presenting a plea at felony
arraignment is different
state-by-state).
•As
a next step, the judge may set the
defendant’s preliminary hearing. (Not
all states have preliminary hearings,
some convene a grand jury to find
probably cause.)
•As
with misdemeanors, bail is established
according to the county bail schedule.
The defendant has a right to argue to
bail reduction.
•At
the preliminary hearing, the D.A. will
show the court that there was probably
cause to believe that a crime was
committed and that eh defendant was the
person who committed the crime. If the
judge feels that there is enough
preliminary evidence to proceed, then
the defendant will be arraigned again
and there will be a pre-trial conference
at which time plea negotiations and
discussions of the issues, witnesses and
strengths and weaknesses.
•As
with misdemeanors, the next step is
trial by judge or jury where all of the
pretrial motions and issues of fact are
decided. If the defendant is found
guilty at the end of trial, then the
judge would impose a sentence, usually
much more severe than with a misdemeanor
offense.
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