No one wants to stay in jail.

After you are arrested the prosecutor must file charges and bring you to court within 48 hours or set you free.

You have two options:

• post bail immediately;
  
• wait until your arraignment when you or your lawyer can ask that you be released on your own recognizance or that the court reduce the bail.
  

For purposes of setting bail, the court is required to assume the charges filed against you are true, pursuant to Penal Code Section 1275.

The two main concerns of the court in granting or denying bail are the protection of the public and the probability that you will show up for the next hearing.  Accordingly, the judge will look at whether weapons or violence were involved and the court will ask about your ties to the community, including employment, family history, and length of residency.

To post bail, you have three choices:

• Post the full bail
• Pay 10% of the bail amount to a bail bondsman to post the full bail
• Post a Property Bond, placing a lien against your house or car, as long as the assets are worth twice the amount of the bail. This process can take up to a week.

A good lawyer can help you with non-bail alternatives such as supervised OR (own recognizance) and sometimes he can secure your release subject to your agreeing to chemical testing, unannounced searches and seizures, and perhaps other conditions.

For a free, prompt and confidential case evaluation, contact the Law Offices of Douglas Slain online, or call toll-free 888-998-5558.