My son and his friends were playing a senior prank at their school in which they toilet-papered the grounds of the school and set fire to a tree (they thought it would be funny for some reason). They were actually arrested and each booked on $50,000 because the school is attached to a church (it’s a Catholic school outside of Los Angeles). What I want to know is why the bail is so high and how we can go about paying it.

Penal code 594.3 states that vandalism of a church is a felony misdemeanor that comes with an assumptive bail of $50,000. Many students have senior pranks and it is unfortunate that your son and his friends were arrested for vandalizing their school grounds as part of a prank. It is even more unfortunate that the school grounds are associated with a church. In your son’s situation, he has been arrested for felony vandalism of a church, which is very serious.

The good news is that some judges are more lenient on such circumstances than others. Your son may get a judge that will release him on his own recognizance, after making him spend some time in jail. However, some judges may be harsher in such situations. When dealing with the bail amount, you are truly at the mercy of the judge and the jurisdiction.

Make sure that you and your son consult with an attorney before you post the bail for him. An attorney will be assigned to your son’s case by the court. This attorney will fight to let your son go on his own recognizance, but if he fails to persuade the judge, then the attorney will then fight for your son’s rights in court when he goes back to stand trial.

The good news is that the judge set the bail right at the assumptive rate of $50,000, which probably means that the judge took note of the fact that this is your son’s first criminal offense (it sounds like) and that your son is not a flight risk. Depending on the judge and your son’s background and temperament with officials, the bail could be set at a much higher rate.

In terms of paying the bail, most people require the assistance of a bail bonding agency. The way the process with bail bondsmen works is that the bail bonding agency will put up 100 percent of the amount of money required by the court for the bail. This amount of money is a bond and it guarantees that your son will return to court on the day of his trial. If he fails to return to court, then the bail bonding agency loses this money. However, if he returns to court, then the bonding agency will get 100 percent of it back, less some administrative fees.

Most bail bonding agencies charge a fee for their services that is equal to about ten percent of the bail bond fee. In your son’s case, you would have to pay $5,000 to a bail bonding agency to get your son out of jail. This money is not refundable. You can use a credit card to pay for it, you can use cash, you can use collateral, or you can work out a payment plan with your bail bonding agent. In your case, you might also want to work out a plan with your son to have him pay the amount back to you after you have given it to the bonding agency.

You will then need to work with the bail bonding agency to ensure that your son returns to court on the day of his trial.