Finding yourself on the wrong side of the law entails many hardships and can feel like a web of court proceedings and fees. Often, people are asked to sign numerous documents, accept a host of fees and agree to things prior to fully understanding the situation. On top of everything, hiring a lawyer is expensive, no matter what crime has brought you into custody.
One aspect of an arrest procedure that many people do not fully understand is the bond fee. Basically, bail bonds in Brazoria County are the court’s way of ensuring you will appear in court when summoned, by ordering you to deposit cash, take up a bond, or to place your property in court hands. If you skip court, you lose your bond amount and will be issued an arrest warrant—something no one wants to go through.
Bringing down your bond
Many people wonder about bond amounts, and especially whether they can have their bond amount reduced. Bond amounts are meant to be assessed at a reasonable rate. According to the constitution, you should be able to pay the bond amount relative to your overall net worth.
Unfortunately though, many judges are able to ignore this rule for all sorts of legal reasons not worth going into here—this matters to you though if you find yourself in custody unable to pay your bail bond in Brazoria County. If you find yourself in this situation, you most likely will wonder if there is some sort of get out of jail free card, or at the very least a way to lower your bond amount. Fortunately there are a few ways to try and lower your bond amount.
The first way to try and lower your bail bond in Brazoria County is to take the bond option rather than posting property or cash. Typically, the bond is at a lower rate than whatever the property is assessed at or what amount of cash the court is asking for. Many people take this option since they aren’t informed on what else they can do, and because like anyone else in custody, he or she wants to get out of jail as quickly as possible. The bond option almost always is a big mistake however: you will actually end up paying more in the long run, and other complications can arise. Consider this option a last resort.
The better option is to ask the judge for a lower amount. This sounds too easy at first, and indeed it sort of is, since it’s likely to be denied. If your request is denied, however, you can ask for a release “on own recognizance:” legal jargon for effectively signing a document that you promise you will return to court when summoned.
Your odds of getting this option aren’t terrible, especially if family members live in the community, you are a long term resident of the community, you have a job, and you have little or no criminal history.
Fight for the latter option as best you can, particularly if some of these criteria apply to you. Otherwise, if you’re in a pickle, try and contact a bond specialist in your area to learn more about your options, and to see how else you might find that get out of jail free card.