The experience of being arrested in California is going to vary from county to county. The state itself has defined many types of crimes, but the bail amounts and penalties are usually left up to the county courts. It is not often necessary for a person who has been arrested to sit in jail until they see a judge. Each California county has a bail schedule set forth by its superior court, and bail bond agencies can use these schedules to have most alleged offenders released within hours of their arrest. Alameda County, however, has a bail schedule that is far stricter than some other counties when it comes to certain crimes.
What is the Bail Schedule?
The bail schedule in Alameda County lists offenses that may have been committed, as well as their possible sentence and preset bail amounts. This allows people to have bail posted for them before ever seeing a judge, which gives them time to properly prepare their defense outside of jail.
A person might receive a lower bail amount if they wait to stand before a judge, but it is important to understand that they may also receive a higher bail amount if the judge sees fit. Since bail bond agencies can only legally charge a defendant ten percent of their bail amount in California, it is often more advantageous to your financial position and family’s welfare to contact Bail Hotline and get out of jail as soon as possible.
Bail Amounts
Alameda County has an extensive list of offenses listed in their bail schedule, and they even include a formula within the schedule to set a bail amount for offenses that aren’t listed. Gang activity is obviously taken quite seriously, as any criminal street gang activity carries with it the promise of being in jail until a judge sets a bail amount. Treason is also listed in the county’s schedule, but there is no bail possible for anyone accused of this crime.
Some other crimes are not punished as harshly as the aforementioned. For instance, aiding the commission of a felony by administering drugs carries a preset bail amount of $20,000 dollars. With the use of a bail agency, a person would only have to come up with $2,000 dollars to get out of jail. At Bail Hotline there are other ways to finance your bond premium, such as zero down payment plans and collateral options.
Certain crimes do allow preset bail amounts, but the bail is so high that it is fairly obvious the county really wants a person accused of that crime to stay put in their jail. Negligently discharging a firearm is one of these crimes, and it carries a preset bail amount of $250,000. It is important to remember that a judge can raise or lower this amount at an initial appearance – of course, that would entail the accused sitting in jail until the county puts them in front of a judge.
Alameda County has one of the strictest bail schedules in all of California. Certain crimes that would garner a high bail amount in other counties will almost guarantee a person sits in jail until they can see a judge in Alameda County. That said, the majority of crimes are still considered bailable offenses in this county, so it’s always more desirable for a defendant to contact Bail Hotline to make sure they don’t wait in jail needlessly, and can get back to their job and family as quickly as possible.
