How is the Utah Bail Schedule Determined?
The first person you call when you've been arrested is likely your lawyer. If your alleged crime is severe, though, you'll probably need to make a call to a bail bondsman. Not all crimes warrant the need of a bail bondsman. Minor offenses may allow the officers at the jail to issue a standard bail amount and release an arrestee with little or no time in a jail cell. Jailhouses usually have a bail schedule that they refer to for minor offenses. Serious offenses, however, may require a bail hearing by a judge. In this scenario, the arrestee waits in a jail cell until the judge is available. Several factors go into a judge's bail determination.
Seriousness of the Crime
Petty crimes (usually misdemeanors) have lower bail amounts than serious crimes (felonies). It's not meant to be punitive, but to give a guarantee to the court that the arrestee will return for future court appearances. If the arrestee fails to appear, he loses the money that was posted as bail. The more money that's paid to the court as an assurance, the greater the likeliness that the arrestee will return to face the court on the scheduled date.
Previous Criminal History, Past Failures to Appear & Outstanding Warrants
- Criminal History: If an arrestee has a long list of past criminal activity and arrests, the judge may see him as a threat to society. The judge may consider this to be pattern behavior. There's a likeliness that he'll commit more crimes before he returns for his scheduled court appearance. He can't be trusted to be a law-abiding citizen during the hiatus. The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution disallows a judge from imposing unreasonable bail amounts in order to keep an arrestee in prison, but the judge may if there is strong evidence that the arrestee is guilty of the current charges against him.
- Past Failures to Appear: The point of setting bail is to guarantee an arrestee's future appearance. If an arrestee has a history of missing court appearances the judge sees a greater probability that he won't appear to answer to the current charges against him. A judge may either set a high bail and can even deny bail.
- Outstanding Warrants: If the arrestee has outstanding warrants, the judge may legally deny bail until the court is able to pursue the outstanding charges.
Flight Risk
- Family Ties: Usually close family ties mean the arrestee is less of a flight risk. He has family reasons to stay local. If, for example, an arrestee doesn't have any local family ties but many outside of the US the judge may suspect the arrestee will leave the country to avoid facing the charges against him. He has nothing keeping him local.
- Length of Residence in the Community: A person who has lived his entire life in the community is a low flight risk. His hometown is his comfort zone. He may not have anywhere else to go.
- Financial Position: If the arrestee is destitute, he's a low flight risk. If he doesn't have the money to travel, he can't go anywhere. The judge will also examine the source of the funds that will pay for the bail. He will note any possibility of funds being related to criminal activity.
Employment or College Enrollment
The judge will consider whether the arrestee will face job loss if stuck in jail if unable to post bail. Consideration will be given to college enrollment. Persons who are in the middle of a semester, with good academic standing and no previous criminal history will be handed a lighter bail amount.
Utah Bail Bond Company
Bad Boys Bail Bonds can help you with your bail bond. Unfortunately we can't change the amount of bail that's been set, but we can assure you that your financial bail needs will be taken care of professionally. Being arrested, booked, and assigned a bail can be stressful. Our experienced staff will help you and your family with the details of the bail bond process to ensure that the administrative aspect of the bail bond process is carefully managed. For more information about us and the services we provide, please visit us at https://badboysbailbondsutah.com/. Our dedication is to you, our clients who need us.
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