Stanislaus Bail Bond Fees

How are bail bonds determined in Stanislaus?

Bail bonds are determined in Stanislaus the same way that they are determined in counties across the state of California. In order to understand how a bail bond is determined, it is important to understand what bail is. Here is some more information that can help you understand the purpose of bail and, ultimately, how bail is determined:

Bail is an amount of money that a judge sets as an assurance that a defendant will return to court in order to stand trial for a crime that he or she is accused of committing. Bail is set when a person is arrested and booked for a crime. Thus, when bail is set, the defendant is already in jail. Bail is the amount of money that a defendant has to pay in order to get the person out of jail in the period before the defendant stands trial.

In order to get out of jail on bail, a judge will look at several factors in the situation, including the following:

Criminal History
The judge will want to know about the criminal history of a defendant. If the judge sees a significant criminal history, especially if the criminal history involves multiple offenses of the same crime, then chances are good that the bail will be set at a higher rate than if the defendant has a clean criminal record. The judge might also deny bail if the criminal history is long or if the defendant has a history of skipping court of if the defendant has a history of escape or attempted escape from jail or prison.

Crime
The judge will review the particular crime that an individual is accused of committing. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the crime, the judge will determine the amount of bail. In some cases, the judge may even deny bail, especially if the crime is a violent crime such as murder. In other cases, the judge may decide that the defendant can leave on his or her own recognizance, meaning that the judge will not require bail for the defendant to get out of jail.

Flight Risk
The judge will also look at the potential for flight risk that each person has. If the judge believes that the defendant will show up to court, he may set the bail at a lower rate than if he thinks that the defendant might not show up to court. Therefore, if you are arrested, it is always a good idea to be compliant with the judge and the arresting officers to increase the chances that the judge will look favorably on your situation.

Assumptive Bail
Of course, each penal code violation has a particular assumptive bail that is associated with that violation. When a judge reviews a case, he or she will begin by taking a look at the approximate assumptive bail rates for a particular crime. If multiple crimes are committed, such as vehicular manslaughter with a dui, then the judge will consider both crimes when determining the bail amount.