What is the purpose of Bail? The purpose of bail is to assure a defendant's attendance in court. What is a bail hearing? If a criminal offense is subject to appearance before the court, a defendant may post a bail to be released, if the criminal offense is bailable. The bail that is set in California is set to a bail schedule. The bail schedule is set by county in California. In order to bail out of jail a person will be required to place money, a bond, or property to secure a defendant's presence in court. Bail permits a defendant to be released from actual police custody into the constructive trust of a surety on a bond given to the court to procure a defendant's release from custody.

Release on Bail: You have the right to be released on reasonable bail. In some instances, you may be released on your own recognizance (O.R.), where you sign an agreement to return to court whenever ordered. Willful failure to appear is a misdemeanor and a bench warrant may be issued for your arrest. A defendant is entitled to bail according to the bail schedule. Under both the California and United State Constitutions bail may not be excessive. Moreover, sentence enhancements may increase the amount of bail required of the criminal defendant. Bail may be forfieted if a defendant fails to appear before the court.

Most people hire a bail bondsman to provide a bond for the court assuring the defendant's presence in court. Our office can assist you with arranging a bail bondsman to bail you out of jail. A cash bail avoids the premium required to pay a bail bondsman. A criminal defendant may also issue collateral sufficeint to ensure a partys presence at court.

Bail forfieture for failure to appear in infraction cases, in misdemeanor, and felony cases bench warrants may be issued.

Bail Hearings are like all other adversarial judicial proceedings. evidence and argument on both sides of the proceeding can be presented to the court either for or against release on bail and/or the amount thereof.

Our Southern California criminal attorney serves greater Orange County in communities such as Newport Beach, Santa Ana, Irvine, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, and Laguna Beach and routinely appears in the local courts such as the Orange County Central Courthouse (Santa Ana Court), Newport Beach Courthouse (Harbor Justice Center), Westminster Courthouse, Los Angeles Courts, North County San Diego Courthouse (Vista Court), Riverside Courts, and Long Beach Courthouse. Contact an Orange County criminal attorney in our Newport Beach office for further help with your Southern California criminal law charges.