In Michigan, there are four different types of bail bonds. During a criminal case, the defendant will have to post some kind of bond at their arraignment. In other situations, the defendant will be required to post a bond at the jail. After the defendant does this, they will be released.
The best bond a person can get is a personal recognizance bond. A personal recognizance bond does not require the defendant to post any cash. The defendant needs to agree to follow the conditions of bond and promise to appear for future court dates. If you hire a lawyer, your chances of getting a PR bond are better. By retaining a lawyer, you are showing the court you plan on staying in the area. You also show the court you are taking your criminal charge(s) seriously. A cash bond is the worst type of bond a defendant can get. It requires the full amount of the bond to be posted. If a judge gives you a $50,000.00 cash bond, you must come up with the full amount of money to post your bond.
A cash/surety bond is the third of four types of bail bonds. This bail bond requires the defendant to pay the full amount of the bond or use some type of collateral for 90% of the bond total, and then have the bail bondsman post the other 90% in cash. The 10% fee that the bail bondsman takes are not applied to fines and costs at the end of the case. It is money lost to the bail bondsman. Finally, there is the 10% bond, that requires a total of 10% of the bond to be posted. This bond does not require collateral for the other 90% of the bond.
Pay for Good Representation First
We receive numerous calls from people seeking our expert representation. When we quote them or a fair and reasonable price, we are told far too often that they could have hired us but they used up all their money bonding out. This is a very foolish way of thinking! You have to think about the long game. Do you want to face more jail time at sentencing because you didn’t hire a great lawyer to work on your case? A lawyer can work with you to lower your bond. A great lawyer can save you years of your life from being wasted on incarceration.
If you have a loved one or family member in jail and they are calling you up begging you to bail them out of jail, remember the advice above. You must think about the long-term consequences of quickly bailing someone out at the expense of retaining an outstanding lawyer. You may regret it later on!
Being arrested for drunk driving is a frightening experience to go through. This experience is even more difficult to face when a person is being charged with a DUI for a second or a third time. Every time you get convicted for drunk driving in Michigan, the penalties you face increase. Jail or prison time are probable every single time you face a charge greater than first offense dui. The loss of your driver’s license is something that is certain to happen.
The first thing your attorney should do when you are arrested for drunk driving is gather all discoverable material related to the case. Next, your attorney should examine this material and then determine if your case can be won. Your attorney may discover that the stop was bad and that your case can be thrown out. Your attorney may discover a factual issue that may give you a great chance at getting a not guilty verdict at trial.
In some case though, the factual basis to convict a person for a drunk driving charge is strong. Your attorney may not discover any good legal issues available to dismiss your case or win it at trial. When this happens, your attorney needs find out what options are best to minimize the negative impact of your drunk driving conviction.
