Typically when a person is arrested and sent to jail for a crime in California, their reaction is to hire a bail bondsman to bail them out. The bail bondsman will usually charge a statutory fee of 10% of the bail amount. This means that if you or a loved one is incarcerated for a crime where the bail is set at $100,000, you will pay a fee to the bondsman of $10,000. This fee is non-refundable, meaning that you will never get any of that money back even if the case is dismissed.
So, what is one way to avoid paying large sums of money when you or a loved one is in jail and facing a hefty bail amount? You need to call an experienced criminal defense attorney to assist you. Doing so before hiring a bondsman can benefit you in the following three major ways:
1. Lowering the Bail Amount
In some cases, if you are arrested, a skilled criminal defense attorney can contact the “judge on duty” and request that you or a loved one be released. If the request is granted, you will be released from custody without having to post bail, or you may be released on a lower bail amount. If this occurs, you will save thousands of dollars in bail bond fees.
2. Attorney-Referred Bail Services
If you hire Wallin & Klarich before contacting a bail bondsman, you are entitled to a 2% reduction in the bail bond fee, this is called attorney referred bail services. In a case where the bail is $100,000, you will save $2,000 by hiring our law firm before contacting a bail bondsman.
3. Preventing Criminal Charges from Being Filed Against You
If you are arrested, an experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to prevent charges from being filed, so that you will not be criminally prosecuted. To do so, your attorney will determine whether criminal charges will be filed against you or your loved one within the “statutory period.” When a person is arrested in California, he or she must be brought to court and formally charged with a crime within two court days or they must be released.
By hiring our law firm, we can work to attempt to have no charges filed by the prosecution within this time period. If that happens, you will not have to pay a bail bondsman any money and criminal charges may never be filed. In this situation, you will have saved $10,000 in bail bond fees by hiring our law firm when you or a loved one is arrested.
Should You Pay Bail When You are Arrested?
Oftentimes, individuals post bail and pay a bail bondsman thousands of dollars only to find out when they go to court that their bail has been raised to an even higher amount and are later taken into custody. In these instances, some may waste thousands of dollars if they are unable to afford to pay the higher bail. It is never a wise decision to post bail until you first consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney.
The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have the knowledge and experience to inform you on whether it is in your best interest to post bail or to wait until your first court hearing. In some cases, Wallin & Klarich is able to convince the judge at the first court hearing to release our client without having to post bail or to drastically reduce the bail. When this happens you save substantial dollars that would have been otherwise wasted on bail bond fees.
Contact Wallin & Klarich Before Making Any Decision to Bail Out of Jail
Don’t waste your hard-earned money on posting bail before speaking with an experienced Wallin & Klarich attorney. Wallin and Klarich has been successfully defending thousands of persons accused of crimes for more than 35 years. The sooner you consult with Wallin & Klarich after your arrest, the sooner we can help you make the right decision regarding bail issues.
With offices in Los Angeles, Torrance, Orange County, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, West Covina and Victorville, there is an experienced Wallin & Klarich criminal defense attorney available to help you no matter where you work or live.
Call us today at (888) 280-6839 for a free telephone consultation. We will get through this together.
