Being “Booked” into Jail means you were taken down to the jail in order to be fingerprinted and photographed and placed into their “book”. Usually you are held until you are released by one of four methods. Three of the methods mandate that you have to see a judge (”Own Recognizance Release”, Third Party Release”, Pretrial Services Release,”- see definitions below). The fourth method of release (”Bond”) can be accomplished by the officer telling you what your bond amount is according to a “Bonding Schedule”, or it can involve seeing a judge so the judge can set your bond amount.
Bond: This is a method whereby the judge sets a certain dollar figure for you to post which will guarantee that you will appear at your next court date. If you fail to appear, the judge can then order a “Bond Forfeiture Hearing” to determine why the state should not be allowed to keep your money. Sometimes a “Bonding Schedule” is posted on simple misdemeanors which designate an amount of money that a person can post in order to be released prior to seeing a judge. It is usually about $500.00 on most misdemeanor charges. If a “bail bondsman” is used, usually a member of the Defendant’s family or a Defendant’s friend will contact the bonding agency. They need to give the bondsman approximately 10% of the bond amount, and then the bondsman will post the entire bond with the Court. The 10% which is given to the bondsman is their fee and will never be recovered by the Defendant. If a Defendant fails to appear in court, the bondsman will then send out a “bounty hunter” to track that person down and arrest them. They do this in order to make sure that the full bond amount is not forfeited by the judge at the bond forfeiture hearing.
Contact The Law Offices of David Michael Cantor and speak to an attorney about being Booked into Jail.
