Reuniting with your family and resuming your life are the thoughts on your mind after arrest and booking. Pretrial release requires you to post bail only if your criminal violation qualifies. Raising bail money takes some families a few hours, weeks, or months. The speed at which you raise the funds determines your time behind bars. If you struggle to raise bail and want to secure an early exit from detention, you should speak to a responsive bail bonds firm in Calabasas. At JR’s Bail Bonds, we are dedicated to ensuring a prompt pretrial release through our affordable and responsive bail bond services.
Arrests In Calabasas
The police can detain you after arrest or release you on a citation to appear. An arresting officer will issue you a citation for a low-level misdemeanor, like a first DUI offense. In other cases, they will take you to the nearest jail or police station for booking and processing. So, before you learn of your bail eligibility and required amount, you must undergo booking and processing.
In California, a police officer can arrest you if they have conducted investigations, gathered evidence, and presented it to a judge for an arrest warrant. Alternatively, they can make arrests even without a warrant if:
- There is a probable cause that you have engaged or were attempting to engage in a public offense in their presence
- You have committed a felony, even though the officers have not witnessed the offense
- There is probable cause to believe you have engaged in a felony, whether or not the offense has been perpetrated
Information Required During Booking
The details the booking officer will require once you are at the police station are:
Your Official Name
Your identity is crucial after arrest as it sets you apart from other arrestees. Therefore, the presiding police officer will request for your full name as the first step of the booking phase. It is common for people to have the same first or second names. However, providing your official name, which includes the surname, will set you apart from other accused persons.
Mugshots or Photographs
Photos taken after arrest are known as mugshots. These are also intended to distinguish you from other suspects, as physical attributes vary. So, once you give your name, you should expect the booking officer to take some pictures of your face from different angles. The photos are stored in a decentralized database for easy retrieval in the future or to help the victim identify the perpetrator.
Your Fingerprints
Your biometrics are crucial for police reference. No person shares the same fingerprint as another. As a result, fingerprints are a universal form of identification. Also, they are stored in the police database for future reference and identification.
Your Employment Status and Employer Details
Booking also entails furnishing the authorities with information about your job, employer, and coworkers. If you operate a business, they will demand the details of the location of the business premises. These details are critical because suspects escape police custody or fail to appear after pretrial release. Authorities may collect this information to help locate you if you fail to appear for court or attempt to evade law enforcement.
Besides, when authorities have contacts of your employer or colleagues, they can easily obtain updates on your progress during the pretrial release period.
Information On Your Next of Kin
The next of kin can be a loved one or a close family member. They are the people you will likely phone first to inform them of your arrest and make arrangements for your bail. When divulging this information, ensure it is someone reliable and available whenever you call. Besides, you must ensure the person has a good and reliable credit rating because they will become your cosigner and deal with the Calabasas bail bonds service on your behalf, as it is challenging to work with bail bondsmen behind bars.
Bail Estimation
After booking and approval of your charges by the prosecutor, the booking officer can estimate your bail for the offense using the LA County bail schedule. Bail schedules are available in every station, so it is easy to access one and estimate your bail. Judges rely on the bail schedule to determine bail, although they can adjust the figure within the law depending on the facts.
If your charges have a predetermined bail amount, you can phone your loved ones to inform them of the arrest, charge type, booking number, and the estimated bail amount. You cannot use the bail schedule if you do not know the kind of charge you face.
When you have the crucial details, including the bail estimate, it becomes easy for your loved ones to prepare for your release as they know the estimated figure they need. If they cannot afford cash bail, the bail estimate will help the bail bondsman finance your release to prepare the contract and determine the premium and collateral needed.
The Bail or Adversarial Hearing
Typically, you should appear for the initial hearing within 24 or 48 hours of arrest unless it is on a holiday or weekend. It is illegal to delay arraignment even after you have exited detention before the first court appearance.
You should prepare adequately for the arraignment hearing because you will be entering a plea. So, your defense lawyer must advise you accordingly on how to plead. After evaluating your charges, the judge will decide whether to grant bail and the amount you should pay, depending on your case’s circumstances. In the hearing, your attorney can make arguments to compel the judge to grant bail at a reasonable amount you can afford.
Factors the Judge Considers When Determining Bail
The Calabasas County bail schedule only provides the prosecutor with an estimate. The judge determines the precise bail figure. They can set the minimum or maximum bail depending on the facts presented. The factors the court considers when setting the bail amount are:
- Your Criminal Record
If you have a criminal record, you will not be on the judge’s good side when being arraigned for fresh charges. The judge will not be lenient to you like they were during your first offense. However, you still have a right to bail as the law presumes you are innocent until proven otherwise.
Even though the judge will not deny you bail as a repeat offender because of the criminal record, if the new offense qualifies for bail, they can increase the bail you should pay based on the facts of the current offense and not the previous one.
- Your Ability to Rejoin the Community
Posting bail grants you pretrial freedom, meaning you return to your community. Therefore, when setting bail, the court considers your capability to rejoin the community. They consider whether you pose a threat to the public or yourself. Again, the judge finds the community’s reaction or attitude towards you, particularly if you reside in the same area as the victims of your crime.
If your attorney demonstrates that you can easily reintegrate, they will set a reasonably small bail. Nevertheless, the judge can deny bail when your return to the community is considered a threat and likely to trigger unrest. This happens in severe cases, like rape or murder. When you insist on the right to bail and your charge is eligible for one, the judge will grant it but will set the maximum amount to discourage pretrial release, as your reintegration into the community will be difficult.
- The Gravity of Your Charges
California Penal Codes categorize particular offenses as violent or serious and therefore may not be entitled to bail under rare conditions, despite it being a constitutional right. These offenses include homicide or the use of physical force to sexually abuse a minor sexually. The decision to deny you bail is made because granting you freedom pending trial threatens the safety of the public and that of the victims.
Additionally, these serious felonies require detailed investigations before lodging formal charges. Extensive investigations are necessary to gather compelling evidence that proves beyond a reasonable doubt that your allegations are factual. So, the investigators might be concerned about you tampering with the evidence or witnesses upon temporary release, preventing them from gathering sufficient evidence to attain the case’s evidentiary standard.
When ruling on bail, the court considers all the facts presented. If the court grants bail, you should call your loved ones immediately and inform them. Your family will contact a reputable Calabasas bail bonds firm to start processing your pretrial release immediately, regardless of the bail figure.
Understanding Calabasas Bail Bonds
To secure pretrial freedom, you have several bail options, such as cash bail, bail bond, and property bond. Of these options, bail bond is the most common, as it is affordable. Defendants with no money to post cash or property to secure bail can use bail bonds.
A responsive Calabasas bail bonds firm will begin the release process immediately after your loved one calls them, and within a few hours, you will have your freedom. The bail bondsman becomes a guarantor for your pretrial release. They promise the court an equivalent of the total bail when you jump bail or disregard other release terms. In return, the court issues a bond for your release. However, these services do not come for free. You must pay a bail bond premium of 10% or less if the company offers discounts. Defendants with legal representation, union members, members of the US military, and government workers are eligible for discounts from bail companies, making posting bail even cheaper.
When your cosigner calls the Calabasas bail bonds firm, they will provide the arrest details and complete the necessary paperwork. The information the bail bondsman wants includes:
- The defendant’s full name
- The defendant’s birth date
- Type of charge
- Estimated or actual bail
- Jail location
- Employment details
- Information regarding the next of kin
Your next of kin will likely be your cosigner. Therefore, when you call, share these details because they will be helpful when filling out the paperwork for the bail bond agreement.
The cosigner does not have to travel to the company’s physical office, as the process can be completed online. Once the paperwork is complete and the premium paid, the cosigner will sign the contract for up to a year. Avoid companies that charge an annual contract renewal fee, as this increases the cost of the bail bonds.
Your bail bondsman might demand collateral to secure the bond in the event of forfeiture. Some companies do not require collateral for a particular bail amount, so your cosigner should do homework on the company they want to hire. They are the ones who will put their property on the line as collateral. So, if they do not have the property, cash, or assets to use as collateral, they should find a Calabasas bail bonds firm that offers no collateral bail bonds.
Once the contract is signed, a bail bondsman will go to the jail where you are detained to deposit the bond. This release time varies after the surety bond is posted. It can take minutes or a few hours, depending on the policies in the detention facility, traffic, and the available staff.
The advantage of partnering with a bail bondsman is that even after they finance your release, they can offer no-obligation guidance throughout the case until the court exonerates their bond. This encourages greater compliance than when you post cash bail on your own. With cash bail, no one will be available to guide you or encourage you to comply with bail conditions. The risk of breaching bail terms and being rearrested is high.
Jail and Court Information
Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff Station Jail
27050 Agoura Road
Calabasas, CA 91301
Los Angeles Superior Court
23525 Civic Center Way
Malibu, CA 90265
Find a Proficient Bail Bondsman Near Me
An arrest can be traumatizing. However, the financial burden of posting bail to secure temporary freedom pending trial makes life even more challenging. If you cannot afford bail, you become a pretrial detainee. You do not want this to happen to you or a loved one, so you should explore other options, like bail bonds instead of cash bail. At JR’s Bail Bonds, we can assist you in exiting pretrial detention through our fast, pocket-friendly, responsive bail services in Calabasas. Call us at 888-577-2245 to schedule a zero-obligation consultation.
