Georgia Bail Options Criminal Defense Attorney
Serving Atlanta and Surrounding Areas, Including Cartersville, Canton, Decatur, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Marietta, and McDonough.
Georgia gives people several bail options for people accused of committing a crime, depending on the severity of the charge. Contact the Law Office of Lloyd J. Matthews if you or someone you know is aiming to pay bail while waiting for the trial date to arrive. Attorney Matthews’s number one priority is his Clients, and he can assist you with all manner of criminal defense issues, from Bail to drug offenses, theft crimes, sex crimes, and more. For more information specifically on Bail, you can also check out our free Blog. How Exactly Does Bail Work?
In the State of Georgia the purpose of bail is to enable someone accused of committing a crime to stay out of jail before appearing at trial. It is not supposed to be punitive or serve as an additional punishment. Most jurisdictions have a bail schedule which lists bail amounts for the most common crimes.
Judges consider many factors when fixing a bail amount. The first factor is the probability of the defendant exiting the jurisdiction to avoid a sentence and what is the level of connection the defendant has to the community (family in the area, length of residence, job status, etc.). The judge also considers criminal history to assess how reliable the defendant has been in court attendance in the past.
How Exactly Does Bail Work?
In the State of Georgia the purpose of bail is to enable someone accused of committing a crime to stay out of jail before appearing at trial. It is not supposed to be punitive or serve as an additional punishment. Most jurisdictions have a bail schedule which lists bail amounts for the most common crimes.
Judges consider many factors when fixing a bail amount. The first factor is the probability of the defendant exiting the jurisdiction to avoid a sentence and what is the level of connection the defendant has to the community (family in the area, length of residence, job status, etc.). The judge also considers criminal history to assess how reliable the defendant has been in court attendance in the past.
Additional Factors that Could Change Bail Amount Include:
- Ability of the defendant to pay
- Severity of the offense
- Character of the defendant
- Public safety
- Likelihood of the accused to repeat the same crime
- Likelihood of the defendant to return to court and answer to the charges
- Whether the charge is included in the list of those eligible for bail
Anyone accused of a misdemeanor offense is entitle to bail bond. Sometimes, a licensed driver charged with a misdemeanor may surrender his license and avoid bail to the amount of $1000, after the accused has been incarcerated for at least 5 days.
Ways To Pay Bail
There are four different kinds of bail bonds to secure a release from jail – property bond, cash bond, professional bonding company, and own recognizance.
If you select cash bond you’re required to pay the full bail amount but can potentially be released in just a few hours. If you attend every court date your money will be returned at the end of the case, regardless of the ruling. Credit cards or checks are sometimes not accepted.
Additionally, you or someone on your behalf can post a property bond which requires:
- Current tax statement
- Current mortgage statement
- Presence of everyone listed on the deed
- Warranty deed
If your bail is a small amount of money we don’t advise the property bond option. They also take more time for release. In Georgia the property owner must have equity in the property equal to or greater than twice the amount of the bond.
Instead of making a payment, the defendant can select the “own recognizance” option and sign a form, and the judge will trust that you will attend all court appearances. This is rare for felony cases or high and aggravated misdemeanors but is common for minor misdemeanors and misdemeanor traffic offenses.
If the accused can’t afford the bail amount, he or she can opt for a bail, where a bondsman posts bonds for criminal charges and the bonding company charges a fee (usually 12-15% of the total bond amount). This fee is non-refundable, unlike a cash bond.
