A Guide for Posting Bail if Arrested in Birmingham Alabama
In the city of Birmingham in the state of Alabama, like all other cities in the US, you can be arrested if there is reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime. Once incarcerated, a defendant can be set free once bail is posted in the court that will hear his case. Bail is the amount of money that will serve as collateral, that is collected by the court to ensure that the defendant appears for all of the court dates and complies with any other conditions of his case. If you cannot afford to pay the full bail amount on your own, you can hire a company that posts bail bonds in Birmingham Al. If you find yourself under arrest within the city of Birmingham, here are few steps you should take so that you can post bail and be set free as soon as possible.
photo/ Johannes Plenio
When you find yourself arrested, the local police or other lawn enforcement entity is going to take you into custody. They will then begin the booking process which is when they will collect information from you such as fingerprints and photographs that will be used to create, or will be added to any prior criminal record you may have. If you are planning on contacting a relative or bail bonds company to post bail for you, take note of the address of the police station or location where you will be taken so that they can find you easily.
After the booking process if you do not post bail, you will be placed into a jail cell. Depending on the severity of your crime, you will be issued a bail amount depending on the bail schedule – a list of amounts corresponding to different types of criminal cases. This schedule is not binding on the court, meaning that the judge can freely change the amount of his discretion depending on the circumstances. For misdemeanor offenses, the bail ranges from $300 to as much as $6000. For more serious crimes such as felonies, the bail can reach as high as $1M.
To stand a good chance of having your bail be set lower, you can refrain from committing any bad behavior during your bail hearing. Good behavior is one of the conditions that a judge considers in decreasing bail amount. You can also hire a lawyer within the state of Alabama to help you during the bail hearing. Many attorneys have the skill to persuade the judge to lower the bail amount, especially if it is your first time being incarcerated. They will employ all available legal options in communicating with the court so you can be granted a reasonable amount for your bail.
Once the bail amount is set, you can explore the available options in posting the amount required by the court. You can ask for assistance from your relatives if you do not have enough money. If you have assets such as cars or properties, you can use them to file for loans that accept collateral assets. Since the bail will be returned to you after your court hearings, you can still get your assets back after the case.
There are also private companies that employ bail bondsmen that will post bail on your behalf. They post bail in exchange for a small fee that is usually 10% of the total bail amount. To hire a bail bond agency, you must submit all the requirements that they ask to determine if you qualify for their services.
If you ever find yourself arrested in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, remember the process above so that you can post bail and be granted your freedom as soon as possible.
Author: Daryl Spector
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