Common Questions About Bail Answered

After you are arrested, you and your Grand Rapids criminal defense law firmwill probably begin thinking about your bail options immediately. The type of bail available to you will depend on several factors such as the jurisdiction in which you were arrested and the crime you have been charged with.

Unsecured Bonds

If conditions are favorable to you, you may be released on your own recognizance or on a bond with a face amount. This bond has no collateral except your signature. You must appear on your court date and follow your bail conditions or you will be liable for the amount of the bond.

Your Grand Rapids criminal defense law firm will warn you that you must reappear on your scheduled court date or you will likely face charges for a new offense, failure to appear, and the fact of your failure will be used at your sentencing for your original crime if you are convicted, thus increasing your sentence.

Cash Bonds

Alternatively, you might be released under a cash bond, which means you will have to a pay a deposit of cash as collateral to be released. The bond will be for a certain amount, but you and your Grand Rapids criminal defense attorney might be allowed to post only a percentage, usually ten percentage, in order to secure your release. Again, if you fail to appear on your next court date, the court will come after you for the full amount of the bond.

Make sure you understand how bail works and what your options are. Call a Grand Rapids criminal defense law firm at Blanchard Law at (616) 773-2945.