This is a good question because bail costs money and if you're going to hire an attorney and you're the loved one of someone who was arrested and is in custody, or even if you're the person trying to figure out what to do — a friend, a family member — whatever the case may be — figuring out bail is not an easy thing.
The crucial thing is to get to an attorney right away. Let the attorney help you with bail and the reason I say that is, let's say the bail is $100,000.00 in this example and you post $100,000.00, you pay anywhere 7% to 10% to the bondsman or you pay him a small amount and you get your loved on out.
Then the court date is going to be pushed probably 30, 45, 60 days now, especially in the time of the Coronavirus. They're moving these cases so the attorney can't get any of the paperwork until there's a court date, so that's one reason you may want to consider just leaving the person in custody.
Let the attorney argue the bail, especially in my example that's $100,000.00. ‘The attorney may be able to get the person out on their own recognizance, may be able to reduce the bail, whatever the case may be.
Zero Bail and Own Recognizance Release
Bottom line right now, with the Coronavirus all bails in Los Angeles county are zero unless it's a serious or violent felony or an enumerated crime — that's a very dangerous crime that society needs to be protected from.
But he judges are very reasonable right now with the bail, so wasting that much money $7,000.00 to $10,000.00 may not be the way to go, and if you have a choice between an attorney and bailing the person out, you pick the attorney every time.
This is because all you do when you bail somebody out, especially in a real serious case, is you put a band aid over a bullet wound. That doesn't fix anything. That gets a person out — fantastic. But you need an attorney.
In my opinion, and I've been doing this 26 years — I've worked for the DA's office, I've worked for a judge and I've been a criminal defense attorney in Los Angeles since 1994. Get the attorney first.
Let the attorney help make the best decisions for you so you don't put yourself in a position where all you can do is bail a person out and then you put yourself in a position where you can't hire an attorney. That would be a bad move.
Retain a Criminal Lawyer Immediately
Also, bear in mind another factor and there's a lot of them. This is a big one. In my example, you bail the person out at $100,000.00. You can't hire an attorney because you have no more money left.
You commit yourself financially. You spend all your money. The person goes to the arraignment and the DAs argue to double the bail or even triple the bail for some reason. The judge grants it and now that person gets taken back into custody.
You lose all your money with the bail bondsman because they have no reason to get the money back. They bailed you out like they were supposed to. It's not your fault that you got taken back into custody.
Again, crucial — let the attorney be the guide. Let the attorney help you make the best decision when it comes to bailing your loved one out in Los Angeles county especially in these crazy times. Attorneys have their pulse on what's going on.
That's the crucial thing. I've been doing this a long time. I've seen the bail do a lot of crazy things recently, so you want to make sure that you have the right strategy going in.
Bailing Someone Out is Not Always the Best Strategy
I can even think of another scenario when it comes to bail. Sometimes you have a situation where a person is going to end up getting some jail time or prison time and they know it.
Maybe they have strike priors, maybe it's a very serious case involving a weapon — whatever the case may be — why would you bail that person out only to have them go back in again. It really doesn't make any sense.
There are so many different scenarios when it comes to bail that your best bet is get the attorney. Let the attorney guide you through the process.
Pick up the phone now. Ask to speak to Ron Hedding. I'll get moving on the case right away, make the right moves for you and your loved one so you can get the best result.
Hedding Law Firm is a criminal defense law firm located in Los Angeles County at 16000 Ventura Blvd #1208 Encino, CA 91436. Contact us for a free case evaluation at (213) 542-0979.
