Bond and Pretrial Release
When asking for a bond, you are referring to your constitutional right to beаrealeased from jail pending the resolution of your case. Bond motions may be filed when 1) you are in jail and unable to post the amount of bond that is set or 2) you are in jail and have no bond set. The court will consider various factors to determine whether to grant a bond motion, including the nature of the case and the likelihood that you will flee prosecution. Your attorney will be able to present to the court the specific information the court needs to fairly determine the bond amount in your case. For instance, an attorney can evaluate the weight of the evidence against you, and use a lack of evidence against you to convince the court to grant a low bond.
Just because a Judge set an initial bond at what is called a First Appearance does not bar the Judge from reconsidering a request for bond at a later time.
If you have been arrested on a felony, and you miss a court date, the Judge likely issued a capias (arrest warrant) with no bond. If you miss a misdemeanor court date, your bond is increased substantially. Should you be remanded on the capias and held in jail without a bond or on a high bond, your criminal defense attorney can still file a bond motion on your behalf. Ms. Cryer has often gotten the court to agree to set or lower bond in such cases.
Rules govern the procedure for filing a bond motion, and the factors to be considered by the court when determining bond. Your criminal defense attorney can guide you as to what information is pertinent, and what information (such as prior criminal convictions), that you cannot be compelled to testify to.
If you miss a court date, any bond you posted is forfeited, and an arrest warrant is issued anew, with a higher bond or no bond at all. Should that happen, it is prudent to contact a criminal defense attorney to file a motion to quash (cancel) your arrest warrant, and reinstate your bond. Ms. Cryer has often filed such motions, resulting in the court simply quashing the arrest warrant, reinstating the bond, and setting a new court date.
Modification of Pretrial Release Conditions
Sometimes, the court releases an accused on bond, but with additional restrictions. For instance, the court may impose restrictions on contact with victims or witnesses, restrictions on place of residence, restrictions on travel, and so forth. It is not uncommon for the court to release those accused of crimes, especially those accused of crimes against civilian victims, to Home Confinement, or electronic monitoring. Home Confinement may cause undue hardship, restricting employment and necessary mobility. Ms. Cryer has filed many motions asking the court to remove the Home Confinement condition, and has had many of those motions granted by the court. Ms. Cryer has also gotten the court to agree to amend other conditions of pretrial release that prove to be too restrictive, such as allowing no УhostileФ contact with victims, as opposed to no contact at all.
In addition, there are other rules governing the length of time the state can keep you in jail without filing formal charges, or an information. If the state violates that right, you may be entitled to release on your own recognizance, meaning you will not need to post bond at all on your case and you will be immediately released with no conditions. -Ms. Cryer monitors the stateТs deadlines in your case, and has gotten many clients released on their own recognizance when the state has failed to file an information in a timely manner. You are also entitled to an adversarial preliminary hearing, during which your attorney can cross-examine the stateТs witnesses early in the case and have the court determine probable cause anew.