Atlanta Criminal Lawyer Blog
What is Bail? Answers From an Atlanta, Georgia Criminal Lawyer
Bail is money and/or property paid to the Court that is intended to ensure a criminal defendant’s return to court for the alleged crimes. It is a conditional release from jail, pending trial or resolution of a criminal matter. Bail is required in almost all criminal cases in some form. The more serious the crime, the higher the Bail. In certain serious cases, where it is likely a defendant may try to skip bail and hide from prosecution, or after committing a new offense while on probation for a previous crime, Bail may be denied by a Judge. In some situations a defendant is unable to afford Bail and lacks the ability to pay a Bail Bondsman. In these situations it is likely a person accused of a crime will sit in jail pending resolution of his/her criminal proceedings. Some criminal cases can take years. Thus, some criminal defendant’s end up languishing in jail for years awaiting a trial. An important caveat to the above, there is no Bail in Family Court, and a child accused of delinquency can be held in detention or sent home with their parents pending court resolution.