Bail: How to Get Out of Jail After Being Arrested
If you are arrested, you may initially be held in a police holding cell. Thereafter, you are transferred to (Central Booking) holding cells located near the courthouse. At the time of your arraignment before a judge, an attorney can make an application to have you released on bail. If you have no prior criminal charges and/or you are not charged with a significant crime, the attorney will ask that you be released on your own recognizance (ROR). This means to be released into your own custody.
Serious Crimes
If you are charged with a serious crime and the prosecutor feels that you may flee to another jurisdiction or you have a prior criminal history, he or she will often request that you are not be released unless bail is posted on your behalf. Bail is technically cash or cash equivalents that an arrested person provides to the court to insure that he or she will appear on the next court date. If the defendant appears in court on the dates scheduled for his or her court appearances, at the end of the case, the bail money is refunded by the courts. It often takes several months for the bail money to be returned. In the event the defendant does not show up to court, the court keeps the bail and issues a warrant for the defendant's arrest.
In theory, the eighth amendment to the United States Constitution requires that bail not be excessive. The purpose of bail is to allow a person who is arrested, who also is considered innocent until proven guilty, to remain free until he or she is convicted of a crime. Bail should not be set higher then an amount that is reasonable to keep the defendant from fleeing.
In practice, many judges set bail very high in felony cases. The effect of high bail is to often keep the defendant in jail until such time as the trial is over or the case is otherwise disposed of. This is especially true in Nassau County and Suffolk County on Long Island.
Types of Bail
There are various types of bail that can be posted. (1) cash, bank check or certified check for the correct amount; (2) a bond (this is a guaranteed payment of the amount of bail).
New York Bail Bondsmen
In New York State we have individuals called "Bail Bondsmen". These are individuals that for a fee usually 10% of the amount of the bail will post a bond on an individual's behalf. Bail bondsmen usually require collateral (something of value) to be held by them to secure them in the event the individual does not appear in court on the scheduled court dates.
Our office is experienced in helping individuals post bail and obtain bonds from bail bondsmen. Feel free to call our New York and Long Island NY Criminal Defense Attorneys should you be in need of posting bail for a friend, family member or loved one.
The Law Firm of Elliot S. Schlissel has offices in Lynbrook, Queens, and Suffolk County, and we represent individuals throughout the New York metropolitan area, including Long Island NY, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester County; and NYC's five boroughs of The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.
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