Bail Bonds - How Judges Make Decisions

It can be frustrating to not know if you need bail bonds or not. When you are facing an arraignment, you have to wait to learn what a judge will do in your specific case. The fact is, this is very rare a simple process in that every type of charge and each person has a different potential outcome. If you have been arrested, you know the importance of having an attorney. The first step is to find out what will happen to you at your arraignment, the instance when your bail will be set, or if the judge will require you to remain in jail.

How a Judge Decides

Every judge is different in his or her opinions. The court gives judges the ability to make decisions about things like bail bonds based on the individual findings in the case. Keeping this in mind, you may wonder what is behind the decision process. What could be concerning to a judge is that he or she may not allow you to leave the jail while you wait for your trial? Some of those concerns are the following.

- How serious are the charges? The more serious the charges are in the crime, or the more serious the crime is, the less likely it is that you will get a low level or be able to leave the jail. If you are facing illegal possession, that may be a lower risk level compared to someone who was in possession and injured a person as the result of his or her actions.

- What does your criminal history look like? This is another big factor for many judges. They want to know if you have had prior run ins with the law. If so, this may mean you are more likely to allow it to happen again, or that the previous ruling or sentencing was not enough to teach you your lesson.

- Do you have any warrants? If a judge issues a warrant, this is a legal requirement of the party to be present in front of that judge's bench. If you have a warrant out for your arrest, for any reason, it is less likely you will qualify to get bail bonds. You may be more likely to flee.

- Do you have ties to the community? If you do, it is thought that you are less likely to flee the area. This may include owning property, being employed full time at a steady position, having family in the community or being a citizen of the country. Without this, you are more of a flight risk.

You cannot receive bail bonds until after a judge rules on whether or not to offer you this option. There is no legally binding requirement that a judge must allow you to receive it, but he or she can remand you to jail pending your trial if there is any reason to believe that you should not be able to go free until that time.