If you commit a crime and are arrested in Los Angeles or anywhere in California and are not released on your own recognizance, you will have to post bail or stay in jail until your trial. Bail is cash or a cash equivalent that must be paid to the court and is held by the court to guarantee your appearance in court, both before and after conviction. If you appear in court as required, your bail is refunded to you. However, if you fail to appear in court, your bail is forfeited and you lose either the cash or the assets used to guarantee the cash amount set forth in your bail agreement. Bail is the court's way of providing an incentive for a defendant to appear in court as required.
If you are arrested for a crime in Los Angeles, the amount of bail that must be paid is determined on a uniform, preset, county-wide schedule. Bail can be paid with cash, a personal check or by pledging real or personal property in an amount equal to the bail amount. "In some cases, the equity available in real property must be twice the value of the cash deposit required for bail," cautions expert Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Stephen Rodriguez. Real and personal property can include your home, land or other real estate you own, jewelry, your car and other personal possessions of value. The amount of the potential loss and the defendant's presumed desire to keep his assets is what makes the bail system work in Los Angeles and everywhere else in the country.
Bail is generally required if the prosecutor considers you to be a flight risk. That is, if the Los Angeles County prosecutor is afraid that you might fail to appear in court or might flee the county's jurisdiction before your scheduled appearance. Preparing for and going to court are expensive. The prosecutor's office will make use of bail requirements to ensure that their and the court's time and money are not wasted. The experienced criminal defense attorneys at the Law Offices of Rodriguez, Lewis & Kahn understand Los Angeles and California bail law and regularly secure their clients' release without posting bail.
[...] required to post bail if you want to be released from jail while awaiting your court appearance. (See our Feb. 16 post for an explanation of bail and how to post bail in Los Angeles.) When a Los Angeles defendant lacks the cash resources to post bail themselves, he may use the [...]