Did the cops arrest you for a crime that you committed involuntarily? Well, you can pay the bail amount and then proceed with the court’s decision to get bail between trial and possible conviction. The bail amount is the total sum of money that you must pay to get out of jail before trial and conviction. Sometimes, bail amounts can be in between hundreds or thousands of dollars. It can present a unique challenge for you to cash in all that money and get bail when you don’t even have access to any savings. Besides, arrests are usually unexpected, so you won’t necessarily have the time to get all the cash you need to get bail. The simple answer to what happens when you can’t post bail is that you will have to cut jail time regardless of the conviction and trial until you’re ready to pay for the bail charges. You may enter plea negotiations by a verdict or with the prosecutor as per the jury or judge in your court case. Bail in Austin, TX?
What Happens If You Can’t Post Bail in Austin, TX?
In simple words, when you can’t post bail in Austin, TX to get out of jail when you’re arrested for a crime or civil claim, the whole process of proceedings will be lengthier than usual. Hence, you won’t have a choice other than to spend some jail time and that too, very uncomfortably since you won’t have a chance at reprimanding for the loss of time and money both.
A lot of people are arrested in the US on a yearly basis, and many of them can’t post bail due to a number of reasons. While some go for a bail bond in Austin, TX, or any other region of the US, others appeal for bail. Plus, the bail charges are set so high that even some of the main lawmakers are moving against it so that the convicted or the prosecuted ones have a chance to reunite with their loved ones and daily routine rather than spend jail time.
Depending on the length of the proceedings, trial, and conviction, your jail time will be somewhat unknown to you as well. Law enforcement personnel might inform you with an estimated timeframe until you can work for your bail or get out of jail. But that will be less accurate than the actual jail time.
How Do Austin, TX Judges Set Their Bail?
For one, once you’re arrested, you will be directly under the supervision and custody of the police force or the law enforcement agency that catches you. Whether you committed a crime voluntarily or involuntarily, the law enforcement agency will intervene at the chance they get. So, ending up in jail is quite common unless you’re ready to cash in for your bail.
Bail is essentially an agreement between the court and you. You pay the bail charges and promise the judge and jury that you will appear for the scheduled hearings on the set court dates for as long as the case proceeds. As the case is completed and you appear at all dates punctually, you will have the bail charges refunded to you. In case you fail to appear on the set dates, the court will have the right to forfeit the money from you.
In turn, the money will be lost, and for much worse, the judge will also issue a warrant that says you must be arrested for appearance in court hearings. A bail is a form of insurance for the court that ensures you will be present on the set hearing dates because you’ve paid a humungous amount of money claiming that. The court demanding payment from you makes sure that you have a valuable incentive to show up at all proceedings.
The total bail amount will depend on many factors to ensure your release from jail. There may be a standard bail amount listed on the schedule for a minor misdemeanor against the law. But for felony offenses, the judge at session in the court will plan the bail amount and verdict depending on several factors. Those factors will include:
- Any criminal history or background that you may have
- Any hints or chances that you might flee before trial
- Any type of risk or threat that you may pose to the victim(s)
- Any professional or familial obligations that you may have
- Your offense’s security and damage impact
Bail Bonds That Can Help You Get Out of Jail
You can go for bail bonds, or your loved ones can help you get a bail bond where a bail company will pay the overall bail charges on your behalf and name to set you free out of jail. The bail company will also require a fee, but that fee will be a small portion/ percentage of the overall bail money. Here are the type of bail bonds that can help you with your case:
Surety Bond
This bail bond is backed up by an insurance company. Bail bondsmen at bail companies usually work with a number of insurance companies to back up the bonds and contracts financially.
Release on O.R (Own Recognizance)
This happens when the judge handling your case in court agrees to release you without fixing a total bail amount that’s usually required to offer bail. This happens most of the time when the accused in a case isn’t a flight risk and has committed a low-level crime or misdemeanor.
Property Bond
The property bond also works to offer you a release from your jail time by placing your property as collateral, such as a house. The bail bondsman offers this alternative when the accused applying for the bail bond doesn’t have enough cash to put down as bail payment.
Conclusion
While it’s difficult to believe, people had served some jail time even before they received their conviction for a crime. It also happens even when the accused who’s going to face trial, conviction, and is serving jail time, can’t post bail. In fact, some of the lawmakers in different states are trying to cooperate with officials to change the law in a certain way that allows people to be free even if they can’t post bail.
