I was put into jail for bribery of a judge and resisting arrest. My bail was set at $115,000. However, my attorney said that if I had just resisted arrest and not bribed the judge, my bail would be less. About how much less and why?

The assumptive bail amount for resisting arrest is set at $15,000. Resisting arrest or deterring an officer is in violation of penal code 69 and is a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on the circumstances.

The assumptive bail amount for bribery, offering or accepting a bribe by judges, jurors and referees has a much greater amount – starting at $100,000. Bribery of such a person is in violation of penal codes 92 and 93.
When you committed both crimes, the judge looked at the fact that you know only resisted arrest, but you also bribed him (or another judge). The judge would have included both crimes when he determined what your bail would be.
In addition, you will probably have an additional bail for the original crime that you were being arrested for. Therefore, make sure that $115,000 is not the only bail amount that you need to pay; you’ll likely have to pay much more.

If you had not resisted arrest and attempted to bribe a judge, chances are good that you may have been released from jail without having to pay bail. Of course, these chances depend on what your original crime was. If you were arrested for murder, for example, you would not be able to get out of jail on bail (in most cases.) However, if you had been arrested for shoplifting, it is possible that the judge would have let you out of jail on your own recognizance, which means that you might have been able to leave jail without paying any bail money at all.

Now that you have to pay bail in order to get out of jail, the most important thing for you to do is find a bail bonding agency that you can trust. The agency should be licensed and you should be able to get a good rate for a down payment. Most bonding agencies charge a ten percent down payment, which means that in order to get out of jail while you await your trial, you will have to pay $15,000. However, if you cannot pay this amount, you can either borrow it, or you may want to just wait out your trial in jail.

The down payment is non-refundable, so be careful about borrowing money in order to pay for it – that’s a pretty large expense that you will have to make – and it’s optional!