After the arrest of a person for some criminal offense, he or she must appear in court within a day or two while spending time in jail. Although the jail term is brief, nobody wants to go through it and instead look for ways to evade it. The law allows the arrested person to avail bail, which helps avoid jail term as the person can walk free on posting bail, which is a security paid by cash or immovable property. Instead of paying money, it is also possible to avail bail by furnishing Castle Bail Bonds Dayton Ohio which facilitates the release of the arrested person. 

Having clarity about the process that follows soon after an arrest should help you make the right decision for the arrested person’s release.

What is booking?

Soon after arresting a person, the police books that person. The police will take the person in custody to record the case’s details, which is known as booking. The process begins by collecting all personal details of the arrested person, such as name, address, date of birth, gender, etc. It also includes the physical characteristics and identification marks and information related to the criminal act that was the cause for arrest and any criminal history of the person. The police will confiscate all belongings they find on the person and then send them to jail, awaiting the court appearance.

What is an arraignment?

Arraignment is the step that follows booking. During this process, the police or the court read out the charges brought against him or her. If it is a minor offense, the police may agree to release the person on providing a citation and promising to appear in court later. Such release is based on the person’s recognizance.  In other cases, the person must furnish bail to obtain release. Only the judge can decide the right course of action based on a few factors like the person’s criminal history, how serious the crime is, and how dangerous the person can be to the community if released and the chances of fleeing after release. If the person fails to appear in court after release, it will lead to the person’s arrest. 

What is bail?

Bail is a financial guarantee provided by the person to the court to assure that he or he will cooperate with the court and appear for scheduled hearings when the proceedings begin. Furnishing bail consists of making payment in cash of providing a bail bond to the court, which the person will receive back once keeping the promise of appearing in court. Accepting or rejecting bail is the discretion of the court.

Bail posting

To secure bail, the arrested person must pay the bail amount or post a bail bond for the amount as decided by the court. The court accepts cash payment by money order or cashier’s check, but for a large bail amount, furnishing a bail bond with the help of a bail bond agent like bail bondsman sacramento ca or company is more convenient.

The person walks free on complying with the procedure, as described above.