If your spouse has ended up behind bars, and cannot be released unless bail is posted, here are three easy strategies that you can employ to try and lower your spouse's overall bail bond. These strategies are particularly handy if you don't have enough cash to cover your loved one's set bail.
#1 Talk To The Detention Release Officer
The first thing you need to do is have your attorney talk to the detention release officer. At your local jail, there should be a detention release officer who always on duty that your attorney can speak with. The detention release officer has the authority to lower your loved one's bail or require you to pay a smaller set percentage of your loved one's bail in order to get them out of jail sooner. This is particularly handy way to reduce your spouse's bail if they were arrested over the weekend.
#2 Wait For Charges To Be Filed
In most states, the government has a limited number of days or hours during with they are required to actually press criminal charges against your spouses. This is called the statutory period. If charges are not filed during this time period, your attorney can demand that your loved one be immediate released from jail. If this happens, you will be able to avoid paying a bail bond for your loved on entirely.
#3 Attorney Referred Discount
Before you go to visit your local bail bond company to get assistance with paying your bail bond, talk to your attorney. Many attorney's work directly with different bail bond companies, and can get you a lower rate through their referral discount program. You can generally save a couple of percentage points off the overall bail bond fee, which can help you afford to bail your spouse out of jail.
#4 Wait For An Arraignment
If your spouse can handle it, wait for them to go to their first court hearing, which is called an arraignment. Often times, at your spouse's arraignment, your attorney may be able to get your spouse's bail bond amount reduced or even removed. Your attorney can present evidence that your spouse is a productive member of society with strong community ties who is not going to flee the area and will stay around to go through the court proceedings that they face due to the charges against them.
If you can't afford to pay your spouse's bail bond fee, one of the four strategies above may help you lower your spouse's bail bond fee to a rate that you can afford. For more information, talk to a professional like Absolute Bail Bonds.
