Things To Prove If You Want Your Bail Reduced

Some criminal offenses have fixed bail amounts. In some cases, however, you can argue with the court for reduced bail. Below are some of the things you may need to prove to have the judge reduce your bail.

Ties to the Community

The main purpose of bail is to ensure you show up for all the required court dates. The more you are likely to skip your court appearances (in the government's view), the more your bail is likely to be. Thus, proving to the court that you are not likely to skip bail can help you lower the amount.

One way of doing this is to prove your strong ties to the community. You can do this by showing that you are permanently employed, you have a family, or that you are an active member of a community group, among other things.

No Criminal History

First offenders often receive the benefit of the doubt from the courts. The rationale is that those who have had multiple brushes with the law are more likely to skip bail than first-time offenders. This makes sense given that a checkered criminal history can aggravate criminal charges and lead to harsher sentences. A suspect with a criminal history would, therefore, have more motivation to skip bail than a suspect with a clean criminal history. Therefore, you can get reasonable bail by pointing out your clean criminal history.

Nonviolent Nature of the Crime

The more violent your alleged crime is, the more your bail is likely to be. There are various reasons for this. First, extremely violent crimes attract harsh penalties, so some offenders might skip bail, especially low bail. Secondly, courts are also of the opinion those charged with extreme violence are also a danger to society; they might commit further crimes and skip bail. Thus, proving the nonviolent nature of your crime can help you get a lower bail.

Excessive Bail

Even in cases where the law doesn't specify bail amounts, bail should not be so high that its main purpose is to keep you locked up because you can't pay. Therefore, proving that your bail is excessively high may help you get the amount reduced. The problem is that there is no definite law on which amounts of bail are excessively high. You will need to use the prevailing circumstances, law, and case precedents to convince the court that the bail is excessively high and they should reduce it.

Don't forget to consult a lawyer if you are facing serious criminal charges. A criminal defense lawyer can help you get your bail reduced, among other things.