During the coronavirus pandemic, for public safety reasons, many advocates called on local jails to release most inmates. That didn’t happen, although jail populations did drop, mostly because of decreased police activity. If a global pandemic doesn’t open cell doors on a widespread basis, nothing will. So, the current system, which mostly relies on secured and supervised release, will probably be in place for quite some time. This means that we’d better get used to it.
A Marietta criminal defense lawyer plays an important role in both phases of the jail release process. Attorneys often obtain better financial security and supervised release terms for defendants. Pretrial release is the solid foundation that a Marietta criminal defense attorney needs to build a good defense. Even if you have an excellent plan and the resources to carry out that plan, you cannot build anything without a good foundation.
Secured Release
Time and money are probably the two most valuable resources that any family has. The current jail release system effectively combines these two resources, or at least purports to do so. Similarly, if a defendant forfeits (fails to meet the conditions of) bond, both time and money could be at stake.
Sometimes, no money is at stake, because the defendant puts up little or no money. Own recognizance (OR) release is usually available if the defendant is a first-time offender who allegedly committed a nonviolent misdemeanor. Many jurisdictions, including Cobb County, adopted or expanded these pretrial release programs due to criticism over large unsentenced inmate populations.
Basically, an unsentenced inmate is a jail inmate who cannot afford bail (more on that below). Pretrial release reduces the bail amount to zero. Everyone can afford that.
OR release is free, but strings are attached. Like the terms and conditions of website use, the terms and conditions of OR release are usually in fine print that few people bother to read. However, also like the terms and conditions of website use, these release terms are binding. More on that below as well.
Bail bond forfeiture is usually the most common kind of forfeiture. These individuals don’t invest much, so they figure they have little to lose.
A bail bond is like an insurance policy. If Sally’s house floods and she has flood insurance, her insurance company covers the loss (goods lost in the flood). Likewise, if Sally gets a bail bond and skips bail, her bail bond company covers the loss (amount of bail).
The final option is cash bail, which is like a security deposit. When people rent property, from Halloween costumes to luxury apartments, they usually pay security deposits. If they return the property in good order and in accordance with the rental agreement, they get most of that money back.
Cash bond is like a security deposit. If the defendant fulfills all release conditions, and we promise we’re getting to that, the defendant gets most of the deposit back. That’s the plus side. The minus is that cash bail, even in a misdemeanor, is usually several thousand dollars.
Supervised Release
All forms of pretrial release have conditions. If you work with a bonding company, the larger the amount, the bigger the financial risk, so the more the conditions. Some of these conditions include:
- Avoiding further trouble with the law,
- Avoiding “disreputable” people or places, which basically means not being a witness to a crime,
- Going to school and/or working full-time,
- Checking in, sometimes in person and sometimes virtually or over the phone, with a supervision officer,
- Immediately updating contact information as necessary,
- Remaining in the county, and
- Appearing at all required court appearances.
A Marietta criminal defense lawyer can tailor these conditions. School/work is a good example. Many people who commit crimes are unemployed. Every day they aren’t at work, they’re technically in violation of their release conditions. Obviously, that condition must be changed in some cases.
The conditions also vary. Court appearances are a good illustration. Some Cobb County courts require defendants to appear at all court dates, even procedural ones. Others only require defendants to appear at contested hearings, like pretrial hearings and trials. A Marietta criminal defense lawyer must carefully inform defendants of their obligations in this area.
Additionally, bail includes offense-specific conditions. Judges often have an itchy trigger finger in this area. That’s especially true in domestic battery cases. If the defendant goes anywhere near the alleged victim, the cops usually show up.
Bond Forfeiture
Judges regularly forfeit bail if the defendant commits a new offense or doesn’t show up at a required court date. They normally let technical violations, like failure to report, slide.
There’s very little even the best Marietta criminal defense lawyer can do about subsequent offense forfeiture. However, if the defendant fails to appear in court, most judges give most defendants a chance to make things right, especially if the defendant had an excuse other than “I forgot” for missing the court date.
In the event of forfeiture, we help defendants get all their ducks in a row before they turn themselves in to authorities.
We should stop right here and say “bail skipping” arrests are very rare, unless it’s a high-profile case. Instead, the judge issues a warrant, and that warrant goes into the computer. When the defendant speeds or runs a red light, even years later, the warrant pops up, and the officer executes it.
Voluntary surrender avoids this time-bomb effect. Generally, only central county jail personnel accept voluntary surrender cases. The middle of the day in the middle of the week, when things are generally slow, is the best time to go. We help these defendants gather the right paperwork and have another bail or cash bond at the ready. So, the surrender process is usually just filling out paperwork in the waiting room.
Bond forfeiture is bad, but it isn’t the end of the world. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense attorney, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start fighting for you.
