Bond Hearings / Miranda Rights
When a person is arrested, they are almost always entitled to a bond. There is a local bond schedule which sets the presumed correct amount of bond depending on the type of offense. However, in some cases where there is a felony punishable by life and sufficient proof of guilt is available and the presumption of guilt is great, then the defendant may not be entitled to a bond. This scenario occurs in cases where the defendant is facing a capital crime punishable by life in prison or the death penalty.
When someone is arrested, they are entitled to appear in front of a judge within 24 hours of the arrest. This is called a First Appearance. At that First Appearance, the Judge will review the very limited information from the arrest affidavit that is available at that time and determine whether there is probable cause that the defendant committed the offense. During the same First Appearance or Initial Appearance, the Judge will take the opportunity to review the bond amount that was set upon the defendant at the time of booking. Defendants have a right to request that his or her bond be lowered at the time of their First Appearance.
If the bond is not affordable to you after the First Appearance, we can set a Motion to Reduce Bond in front of a Judge where we can argue the reasons why your bond should be reduced. We will be able to present substantially more information to the Judge than what was available at the First Appearance hearing and we can argue to have the bond reduced. Bond is not a tool to punish the accused but rather is a tool to ensure the accused’s presence at court hearings and to protect the community from future crimes of the accused. Accordingly, we can argue to the Judge the reasons why a lower bond will be sufficient to ensure your presence at court dates and ensure you do not get arrested on new offenses when you are back out of jail.