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If you find yourself engaging with the law due to criminal charges, then it may help to learn all about posting bail. When you’re initially arrested, you’ll have the chance to post bail (or negotiate with a service that can help you do so) so that you can return home to your normal life. However, the amount you have to pay will depend on a number of factors. Once it’s done, you’ll still need to appear in court on a particular date, but as long as you can keep out of trouble and show up to your hearing, there’s a good chance that your sentence will be lowered, especially if it’s only a minor criminal charge.
But how long do you need to wait before bail can be posted? Can you leave jail shortly after you’ve been arrested? Or do you need to wait a certain amount of time? We’ll be answering those questions and more in this post.
How long does the bail hearing process take?
The bail hearing process involves several steps.
Bail hearing
Before you learn how much bail will be, you’ll have a bail hearing to determine if you’re eligible or not. If you are, then you’ll be told the exact amount of bail. If you can post the full amount, then you’ll be allowed to go home. You should remember that you will be refunded the full amount should you appear in court at the date specified by the judge.
In most cases, the hearing will happen shortly after you’ve been detained. However, it can be delayed if there are quite a lot of hearings to go through that day. It will heavily depend on the staff available at the time, so the expected wait time can vary on a day to day basis.
Bail amount
When you appear at the bail hearing, the court will examine your situation and determine if you are a flight risk or not. If you don’t have a long criminal history and seem calm about the entire situation, then it’s likely that your bail amount will be fairly low. However, if the court sees you as a potential threat to society, then the bail amount can be staggeringly high.
The amount of time this process takes will vary depending on the resources available at the time. If the charges are complex and involve many different parties, then you can expect the process to take quite long.
Bail payment
Once the bail amount is set, you’ll be given the chance to provide the full bail amount in order to be released. You’ll be offered a number of different payment methods so that you can choose what’s more convenient for you.
In the event that you or your family cannot afford to post bail, you’ll have the opportunity to contact a bail bond agent. These are services that will help you post bail on your behalf, but depending on the circumstances, you may be required to pay a fraction of the cost or submit something as collateral. You may also be charged a fee for the services.
Services like Future Bail Bonds can assist with posting bail. Upon contacting us, you’ll receive a completely free consultation to help you decide if our services are right for you. We’ll then assist in collecting information about you and you’ll receive an approval from us with the relevant paperwork.
Once bail has been posted, either by you, someone you know, or a bail bond agent, the payment will take some time to process. If you pay directly, then the process shouldn’t take long and you’ll be released from jail. If you contact a bail bond agent, they’ll do everything in their power to ensure that you can get out quickly, but there may be additional documents to sign and discussion to be had.
What affects the amount of time it takes for bail to be posted?
There are a number of different factors that could affect the amount of time it takes for bail to be posted. Some of these factors involve you, but others may involve the jurisdiction or the station that you’ve been detained in.
Every station is different, and how efficient their processes are will greatly depend on the quality of staff and the resources available to them. Some stations may have arrested several people that night, resulting in long delays if they don’t have the staff to process several people at once. On the other hand, some stations may have plenty of resources at their disposal, meaning bail can be posted very quickly and you’ll be let out of jail in under an hour.
However, if your case is particularly complicated and involves several different parties, then you can expect there to be several delays. This is mainly because the judge and all related parties will need to carefully examine the circumstances in order to determine how much they’ll set the bail at. If you’ve got a criminal record, then the court may impose extra conditions or take more information into consideration before they set your bail or decide to release you.
Conclusion
The amount of time it takes for bail to be posted depends on many different factors, so it’s hard to give an accurate estimate. In general, we believe it takes anywhere from 20 minutes to over 5 hours from the moment that you’re arrested to your eventual release. Again, there are many different factors and circumstances that could affect this. Two people arrested by the same officer could face wildly different release times due to the many different factors involved.
If you’re interested in learning more about bail bonds or the processes involved in posting bail, then don’t hesitate to contact Future Bail Bonds today for more information.