When you are charged with a serious crime in the state of New York, bail may be assessed in your case relatively early on. If you are not familiar with how the process works, you could expose yourself to the potential risk of having an unreasonable amount of bail set such that it is impossible or difficult for you and your family members to pay that bail out.
This could mean more time spent in prison than is necessary. It is possible that you will be required to pay a fee to get out of jail if you have been taken into custody after being accused of a crime in New York. This is referred to as a bail payment and at the conclusion of your case you may be eligible to recover a part of this fee but you need to be more familiar with how bail is determined in New York and how a lawyer can help you to get your bail amount reduced. Your bail reduction lawyer in the Bronx is a major asset to you. If you have previously violated probation or been convicted of other crimes, the judge may be wary of giving you leeway.
How is Bail Determined?There are a number of different unique factors in your case that will determine the amount of bail that is assessed. If you have committed a misdemeanor, your bail will likely be lower than if you committed a felony. This is because felonies are categorized as more serious offences and may include an assumption that the crime you have committed is more dangerous.
Your past criminal record can also be taken into consideration with bail. If you have been charged frequently in the past or if you have prior convictions on your record, you may pose a greater risk to the community if immediately released, so the bail amount may be set higher such as to make it difficult for you to get out of jail. However, if this is your first offense, you may be given a reduced bail amount or allowed to be released on your own recognizance. However, you cannot predict which of these factors will be considered in the judge's determination and therefore, it is valuable to schedule a consultation with a New York criminal attorney as soon as possible to protect your interests.
Your bail will be determined by the likelihood that you will choose to flee if went out of custody. If you have connections to other countries or locations, for example, or you tell a judge that you don't plan on staying, there's a good chance that your bail amount will be set high. However, in certain situations the judges may try to set your bail much higher than it needs to be. This can be a major detriment to you if you are unable to get the financial resources necessary to get out of jail.
An experienced Bronx bail reduction lawyer, however, can assist you with this process and get your bail reduced. An attorney can use several different tactics in order to minimize the amount of your bail. First of all, it could be argued that you are not indeed a flight risk and that you are looking forward to arguing your case to protect your reputation. Your Bronx bail reduction attorney may also establish that you have ties to the community that would make it difficult or impossible for you to leave such as a nonprofit organization you're responsible for, a business you run, or a form of employment that keeps you in the local area. If you can show that there were extenuating circumstances involved in your case, related to this charge or prior charges, your attorney may bring this up in order to illustrate that these should not be used heavily in determining your bail in this particular case. If you are allowed to go free pending your case, your bail reduction attorney may have played a significant role in making it possible for you to get out of jail early on.
Conditions may be placed on your bail if you offer concessions to the court as one way to reduce your bail amount. You might have to turn in your passports for example, in order to reduce the risk of being a flight risk. Other related concessions may include agreeing not to use a private boat or plane until the case is resolved or turning in your driver's license.
You may also be able to give up using a cell phone or a computer to make contact with an alleged victim or participate in drug testing. If you don't think that the bail assessed in your case was reasonable based on your criminal history and the crime itself, you need to ask for a bail reduction with the help of a bail reduction attorney in the Bronx. The right lawyer can go a long way towards arguing your case and helping you from the very moment your hire him or her.