What is a PR Bail Bond?

Unless you're a hardened criminal, the working of our criminal justice system is probably unfamiliar and frightening to you. It is extremely intimidating for the average person to be arrested.
Our system acknowledges the delicate balance between the need to be treated as an innocent person until proven guilty and the need to protect society from further harm once police believe a wrongdoer has been identified. That's why bond plays such a part in the American criminal justice system. For most of us, a personal recognizance bail bond will be all the assurance the system needs that we will not escape justice between the time of arrest and trial.

Reasons for an Arrest

If you have been arrested, most likely an officer of the law has seen you disobey a law or has reason to suspect it. You're driving erratically and it appears you are impaired by drugs, alcohol, or temporary physical disability. Or you may be running out of a store after a report is called in for shoplifting. Sometimes a second person reports a crime and a warrant is sworn out for crimes like domestic abuse, non-payment of a legal obligation or destruction of property.

Official Booking and Bail

After you are arrested, you'll be told your rights and formally charged. Once at the police station, you'll be informed of your choices and allowed to call a lawyer. If you are considered too dangerous to rejoin society, you'll remain jailed until trial. If your actions are serious but not dangerous, you'll be given a set amount to pay for your freedom in between arrest and trial. The reasoning behind this is that you will not want to forfeit the money by fleeing. Once you arrive for trial, you'll be given your bail money back.

Most people raise the money for bail from their savings, from a bank loan, or by borrowing from family and friends. If this is not possible, you'll be given the opportunity to contact a bail bondsman, a professional who, in essence, makes you a temporary loan and charges a fee that comes out of your pocket whether or not you show up for trial. The bondsman will assess your risk of fleeing and make a decision accordingly. If you have decided to hire a lawyer, most likely he or she will help you with this.

Getting a personal recognizance bail bond

For less dangerous or serious crimes, the law allows for you to simply promise to return for trial. This is called being released on your "own recognizance" or "personal recognizance." Most minor crimes and crimes where there is no victim are handled in this way. The law considers several factors before allowing you to leave without any type of restraint. Some of them are:

Are you dangerous? Has your crime had an element of violence? If it appears you are a danger to society, you will not be offered a personal recognizance bond. If you are not a danger, there are other factors to consider.
Do you have ties to the community? If you have a family, a job and are an authentic member of your community, the court will assume you are not going to simply leave before trial.

Have you a criminal record that would make it more likely that you might disappear? If you've been in prison before, the stakes are higher and it will be harder for the court to believe you'll keep your promise. This is especialy true in domestic violence cases. Each repeat incident makes it less likely that you will be allowed to leave without monetary bail.

Breaking a Bond

If you fail to appear in court, you will be arrested again. It is unlikely that you will be released a second time under a personal recognizance bail bond.

Attorney for PR Bond

A lot depends on the seriousness of the case. If there is a chance you will serve time if you are convicted, it is always best to work with an attorney. You will almost always do better by asking the clerk to recommend an attorney than to find one randomly. You may be asked to show proof that you cannot afford an attorney. If this is the case, you will be assigned one.

Some cases are routinely dismissed, sometimes even before trial, such as cases of public disturbance where many people are arrested. This also occurs in drug cases where analysis shows that no drugs were involved, or cases where there is clearly a mistake.

Resources

• Find Law