Bail Bond Lawyer in Orlando – What You Need to Know About Bonds
Criminal Law 101
Everyone arrested in Florida is entitled to a bail bond. There is one exception and that is if you are charged with a life or capital felony. If you are, the judge can deny you a bond if the prosecutor can show that the “proof is evident and the presumption great.” So it’s a good idea to talk to an experienced bail bond lawyer before doing anything.
Simply put, bonds exist to make sure the people arrested come back to court to resolve the case and don’t just leave the state. The more serious the time you are looking at, the more likely it is that you will run. So if you are only arrested for a misdemeanor, low chance of you running. If you are arrested on a felony where you are likely going to do some serious prison time, higher chances of you running. In those cases, the judge will make you put up more of your money (or your family’s money) to make sure you don’t just take off. And if you do take off, they keep the money or the house or whatever you put up for collateral. Below is a more detailed explanation of how bonds work:
If you are arrested for a petit theft, perhaps a $250 bond is sufficient. Most people won’t risk blowing off court for a simple misdemeanor that has a maximum 60-day sentence. Failing to appear will result in forfeiture of the $250, which (to most people) isn’t the end of the world. However, the judge will issue a warrant for your arrest and could suspend your license (with what is called a D-6 suspension). So the next time a cop runs your license plate or pulls you over, you are going back to jail – and this time, there will not likely be another bond. This is another reasons to talk to me today. I have a lot of experience as a bail bond lawyer here in Central Florida.
On the flip side, if you are arrested for a much more serious crime like aggravated assault with a firearm (which carries a 3 year minimum prison sentence if you are convicted), a bond will need to be higher even if you don’t have any criminal history. The amount of the bond may differ from person to person. If you are like most Americans, a $5,000 will be sufficient to ensure you return to court. But if you have $50 million dollars in the bank and are just in Florida on vacation and you’re getting ready to fly back to Australia, you probably need a higher bond.
In most cases, a bond will be set for in accordance with the local bond schedule. Sometimes, however, bonds can be a little high. If you or a family member or friend is in jail with a high bond, contact us to see if we can get a bond hearing scheduled to try to lower the bond. Naturally, you may want to try to find the best bail bond attorneys in Orlando to get into court to try to convince the judge to lower the bond or alter the conditions of release. However, keep in mind that you may not be able to hire an attorney just to handle the bond hearing. When a lawyer files their notice of appearance as your attorney, they almost always have to stay in the case until it is resolved.
Bail bonds companies usually charge the same amount for bonds. It is usually 10% of the total amount of the bonds and/or $100 per bond. They may, however, require collateral for the remaining 90% in the event that the person they are bonding out does not appear as required for court. If you have counsel, you may want to tell them that you already have a bail bond lawyer in Orlando.
You may also be required to show that the source of funds used for posting bail are not from illicit activities (like dealing drugs). This is called a Nebbia Hold and can prevent your loved one from being released even if a bail amount has been set.
How can I reduce the amount of the bond set by the Judge?
An experienced bail bond lawyer will not only file a motion to reduce bond – he or she will also do research on the latest case law that is out there pertaining to bail bond reductions and learn about the client. He or she should take the time to get to know you and your living situation, your family situation, your financial situation and make a passionate argument to the Judge. At the Fighter Law Firm, we fight for a lower bond. We understand that coming up with money for a high bail can be very difficult on any family. Sometimes any reduction in the bond amount can make the difference between your loved one getting out of jail and staying in until the case is closed. Call us today at 407-344-4837 to learn more about how we can help.
Example of Bail Bond Use
If your family member has two bonds – one for $50,000 and another for $100, a bail bonds company may require $5,100 as their premium. They will post the $50,100 worth of bonds with their own money. If the person they bail out fails to appear for court, the judge may forfeit the bond or estreat the bond. When that happens, the clerk of the court will contact the bail bondsman to let them know they are going to lose their $50,100. Obviously, the bondsman is not going to be happy about that and will want to make sure they either get you into court or find you and turn you back over to the jail. They take bond forfeitures and bond estreatures very seriously.
Because bail bondsman sometimes risk such large amounts of their money, they want to hedge their bets and lower their risk by getting collateral from the family. If there is a failure to appear, they will be able to sell the collateral to cover their loss.
Pretrial Release Programs
I do not recommend going with a pretrial release program – even if you qualify. You don’t want to set yourself or your loved one up to fail.
