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Pre-Trial Release and Bond for DUI Arrests in Fredericksburg

Following a DUI arrest, you may be wondering what steps you need to take to get released. Pre-trial release and bond for DUI arrests in Fredericksburg are instrumental in achieving freedom after an arrest. If you have been arrested for a DUI offense, it is important that you speak with a determined DUI lawyer that could help bond you out. A capable attorney could examine your previous history and look for mitigating factors in your case, in order to negotiate reasonable conditions of release. Work with an experienced legal advocate that could fight for you.

Defining Bond in DUI Cases

Before further discussing pre-trial release and bond for DUI arrests in Fredericksburg, it is important to explain what bond is. Virginia law defines bond as the court’s required payment to be released from jail before trial. The court has many options for setting a bond and may set additional requirements. It may decide not to require an individual to post bond, releasing them on their personal recognizance instead. Others may be held until they can post cash or a corporate surety bond, meaning they have to either pay a sum of money to the court or hire a bondsman to act as a surety that they will not miss their court date.

The magistrate or judge determining the bond amount is required to consider several factors. They include whether circumstances make it more likely or less likely that an individual will appear in court and more likely or less likely the individual would be a danger to the community if released.

Process of Posting Bond

If the court requires a cash or corporate surety bond, they can generally be posted in two ways. One is by paying the full bond amount to the court, in which case the full bond is returned after the case is concluded. The other is when a bond company is hired to provide a corporate security bond, in which case the smaller amount paid would not be returned.

The most important thing to keep in mind about posting bond is when hiring a bond company, the individual will not get their deposit back. If the individual posts bond themselves, it will be refunded after the trial. It is also important to keep in mind that the promise to appear in court is not just to promise to pay the bond, it will also result in criminal charges if the defendant fails to appear.

What is Pre-trial Release?

Pre-trial release and bond for DUI arrests in Fredericksburg are heavily related. Pre-trial release and the role the person’s DUI plays in helping them get released on bond is evaluated by the pre-trial section of each court. It evaluates individuals for bond and for supervision while they are out on bond. The pre-trial department meets with the individuals to determine their risk level according to the state guidelines. It then will recommend to the court how the bond should be handled. In many cases, the court will order an individual to have pre-trial supervision, which is much the same as reporting to a probation officer. An attorney can be helpful in getting bond set and arguing for a pre-trial release. They do so by contacting the pre-trial officers and discussing their evaluation, and with the pre-trial services and other alternatives that may be available in difficult cases.

Implications of Not Complying with a Pre-Trial Release

When a person is released from jail, they should receive a warrant or a summons to appear in court for each of the charges they face, and information on their bond or recognizance, their requirements, and conditions. If an individual does not comply with pre-trial release, they likely will have their bond revoked and be sent back to jail. When the court requires conditions of bond, it monitors those conditions and will revoke a bond if the individual fails to comply with them. The most serious condition someone could violate is refusing to comply with pre-trial requirements or incurring additional charges while out on bail.

Importance of a Fredericksburg DUI Attorney

It is important to get in contact with an experienced DUI attorney immediately upon being arrested for a DUI because information about the case is precious to a defense. Information is easiest to obtain when it is fresh, and it is important that a person’s rights are protected from the very beginning of the case. It is also more effective to have an investigation done from the outset of a case so the planning for how the bad facts in a case can be mitigated and how the good facts can help can be determined properly from day one. Furthermore, a qualified DUI attorney could help get you out on bond and answer any questions you may have about pre-trial release and bond for DUI arrests in Fredericksburg.

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