If you have never had to attend a bail hearing before, you may not know what the process is or what you should expect. And even if you have had to appear before a judge previously, it doesn’t mean it gets any easier.
When you attend a hearing, you aren’t defending whether you’re innocent or guilty just yet. It’s more of a preliminary trial to determine how much of a threat you might be to the rest of the public, as well what an acceptable bail amount should become.
Questioning Your Character
As someone who has recently gotten arrested for allegedly committing a crime, the court needs to know what sort of an individual that they are dealing with, either a career criminal or one who just had a bad day.
In addition to your personal history and any available previous records, they’ll also call into account any past employment and financial history as well. If they see you as an upstanding member of the community, you’ll likely get more leniency than a repeat offender.
Are You a Flight Risk?
One of the most crucial things to determine about you is whether or not you can get trusted to appear at your criminal trial. Should you decide to run, it’s only going to make a bad situation even worse.
If a judge believes that you remain a flight risk, your bail amount gets set at a much higher amount. And, if they think you are more than likely going to skip your trial, they may deny you bail altogether.
Who Remains Present at the Hearing?
At your initial bail sentencing, you likely won’t have many people to speak to compared to a criminal hearing. There aren’t lawyers trying to trick you into stating a confession, only an open and honest discussion about why you were arrested and whether or not you should get released.
There are also usually public spectators, but considering what time of day or evening it may be, there might not be that many people present at all. Even when others are there at the trial, you only need to answer to the judge presiding.
In the end, you either receive a bail amount, or you get sent back to your cell until trial. And when you need a bail bond, you call Gibson Bail Bonds for affordable premiums daily.
