When an individual is deemed as a possible perpetrator of a crime, the first step that law enforcement will do is to place him in custody. This is to ensure that he will be available for the succeeding trials of the case to follow. To accomplish this, the court will first issue a warrant of arrest for that individual. The warrant will enable the police to take you immediately regardless of your location or current disposition. For those issued with such warrant, here are the steps you must take to ensure the least amount of trouble with law enforcement.
If you already have a warrant for your arrest, contacting a bail agent right away is tempting but the first thing you must actually do is to talk to your lawyer. You can increase your chances of being on the good side of the court by turning yourself in first instead of being arrested by the police. This will show to the court that you are a responsible individual. Your lawyer can help assist you in the procedure of turning yourself in. Those who yield to the police instead of resisting have a higher chance of being allowed to be released during their bail hearings. Your lawyer can also help arrange that you appear in court directly instead of being arrested by the police. For this step, a bond is usually issued to ensure that the person will show up for the hearing. Before heading to the police station, you can also contact family and friends to look for possible people that can serve as a surety for you if you are allowed for bail.
Upon entering the jurisdiction of the police, they must take you to a judge for your bail hearing within 24 hours. They must accomplish this within such a time frame and not hold you in for longer periods of time unless no judge is available for the hearing. Within such a timeframe, they will also be taking information such as fingerprints and photographs for their records. You have the right to refuse to speak during this entire process.
Once handed to the court, the judge will now decide if you are eligible for release on bail. The bail is an amount issued by the defendant that will allow him to be set free during the duration of the court hearings. Such amount will be forfeited if he fails to appear in court. The amount will depend on the severity of his case and his risk of flight. You must cooperate fully with the court for you to be deemed as a trustworthy individual, raising your chances of being granted a lower bail amount.
When you are deemed eligible for bail and the bail amount has been decided, you can now explore options for its payment. If you are not capable of paying the amount by yourself, you can seek help from friends and family to complete the amount. There are also third-party individuals that post bail for clients in exchange for a small fee, known as bail bondsmen. There are many of these individuals across different states that will assist you in the entire bail procedure.
If you find yourself facing a warrant of arrest, be sure to follow the steps mentioned above to be released as soon as possible and be part of society once again.
