Have you been arrested? Do you have a bond? Is the bond too high? Do you have an arrest warrant? Does the warrant have a bond?
Issues related to bond and modifications of bond can be just as important to the defense of your case as anything else. When a person is arrested for any criminal offense, or when a police officer issues a warrant for your arrest the issue of bond is always a part of the story.
When you are arrested you will usually be given a “standard bond” amount that you, a family member, friend or loved one can pay for you. This can usually be done for most cases. Depending on the amount of the bond that is assigned to your particular case will of course have an effect on whether you are able to pay that bond. Most misdemeanor cases have small amounts i.e.: $25.00 or $100.00 sometimes people are able to pay $500.00 or $1,000.00 bonds. On felony cases however, the bond amounts can be in the several thousands of dollars.
These amounts are assigned to you during Magistrate Court. Magistrate Court is held twice a day, once at 8:30AM and again at 1:30PM. Depending on when you were arrested will affect whether a judge will see you in the morning or the afternoon, or even the next day. A judge usually sees you within 24 hours of your arrest. The judge’s job is to review the police report and to make sure there is sufficient probable cause to believe that you committed the alleged offense.
Hearings in Court
The outcome of these hearings can be the difference between a high bond amount, no bond amount or an outright release on your own recognizance. This is why it is very important to contact an attorney immediately. There are several issues that an experienced and knowledgeable attorney can raise at a Bond hearing that could result in your release from custody without any financial obligation.
Most times, we are able to achieve a release with minimal or no financial obligation. On situations where we are not able to achieve your release with no financial obligations, we do everything we can to make sure that your bond amount is low enough for your family, friends or loved ones to be able to pay. For most cases, everyone is entitled to be released on reasonable bond. The general rule in Criminal Court is that if a bond is so high as to be impossible for the defendant to pay, it is tantamount to no bond at all, which is very unfair.
Loved one in Jail without a Bond?
Certain cases are not entitled to a bond at magistrate court. These cases include very serious felonies involving drug trafficking, firearms, domestic violence, murder, certain sexual cases, certain burglary cases and robbery cases. The types of cases that are not eligible for bond are those that are punishable by life in prison and therefore the risk of flight or risk to the community are too great for a release without a lot of work on the part of the defense.
When your case is not entitled to a bond the attorneys at the Law Office of Attorney Grant Schwarz will file a motion for what is called an “Arthur Hearing”. An Arthur Hearing is a way for you to challenge the evidence against you and be released on a reasonable bond. The Court will listen to the evidence the state attorney is planning on using against you and determine whether there is Proof Evident that there was a crime committed and that the Presumption is Great that you are the one who did it. This standard of proof of even higher than Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, which is used at trial on criminal cases. The Court will also want to hear about your criminal history and ties to the community. We can still achieve a release for you even if the proof is evident and the presumption is great.
Contact the Law Office of Attorney Grant Schwarz to learn about how an Arthur Hearing can help your loved one be released from jail. Call today 954-620-8320 to speak to an attorney today.
Call a Broward County Bond Lawyer
Sometimes even though you were given a bond, and the bond amount was reasonable there are other terms and conditions of your release that have become a hardship on you or your family. Certain terms and conditions could be: Restrictions on travel, driving, and ability to see your family, ability to go certain places. When these conditions become a hardship to your ability to function and provide for yourself, they need to be modified.
Attorney Grant Schwarz has handled hundreds of bond hearings in his career and understands what arguments work, when bonds can be modified and when they cannot. Do not trust an attorney who will guarantee a bond reduction or modification. The truth is that each case is different more importantly each judge is different. Some judges will offer lenient terms of release while others do not. There is a big balancing test that must be done on each case involving a bond modification, and the Law Office of Attorney Grant Schwarz knows how to best tip the scales in your favor.
