Why Judges Deny Bail In Certain Situations
When the police have evidence that a person committed a crime, they can arrest the person for the alleged charge. While the arrest does not make the person guilty, it does begin a series of court hearings for the criminal matter, and it will require taking the person to jail. When a person is arrested, he or she may be able to get out of jail by paying bail money; however, there are several different reasons why judges will deny allowing a bail in some cases. Here are the top reasons for this.
The defendant is a repeat offender
Paying bail is basically something that lets an alleged criminal a way out of jail while he or she works on settling the charges, but there are times when courts will not allow bail for a person. One reason courts will deny bail is when a person is a repeat offender. For example, if a person currently has multiple pending charges for crimes and is arrested once again for another crime, the court will view this person as a repeat offender and may deny offering bail to the person.
The crime is very serious
Judges can also deny bail when crimes are considered very serious. For example, if a person is charged with molesting a child, this person might be considered a risk to society. Letting the person free by paying bail money could pose major risks to other people, and this would be a reason a judge may deny bail for the person.
The defendant is a flight risk
If a judge believes that the person in question will flee the area and try to hide to avoid going through the court process, the judge may also deny bail. In this case, the court would view the person as a flight risk. If a person is viewed as a flight risk, the court will not want to take any chances and will simply deny the person freedom during this time by declining to offer a bail amount for the person. The alternative to this is setting the bail amount so high that the person could not afford to pay it.
It is rare for a judge to deny bail for most people who are arrested, but it happens. If you are arrested, you can find out how much your bail is by asking the court or someone at the jail, and you can hire a bail bondsman from a company like First Choice Bail Bonds to assist you with paying the money needed for the bail.