If your spouse was arrested for driving under the influence of cannabis, then it's important you understand their legal rights and take steps to get them out of the county jail as soon as possible. Jail isn't a pleasant place and the sooner you are able to get your spouse out the better.
Within a day or two of their arrest, your spouse will go before a judge for an arraignment hearing. At the arraignment hearing, the charges against your spouse will be read and the judge will decide if they can be released on bail. While it is always possible the charges will be dropped due to lack of evidence or a procedural error, chances are posting bail will be necessary.
An Overview of the Bail Bond Process
Once your spouse has had their arraignment hearing and knows the amount of their bail, then you can either pay that amount to the court or purchase a bail bond to get them out. Bail bonds are essentially an insurance policy that you won't skip out on your day in court.
While some states are moving away from using bail bondsmen and are requiring defendants to pay a percentage of their bail amount directly to the court, many others still require you to obtain a bail bond from a third-party bondsman.
If you can pay the bail amount directly to the court, then that will be the fastest way to get your spouse out of jail. However, if you need to obtain a bond from a bondsman, then you will need to locate one who operates in your local area.
The Information the Bail Bondsman Needs
In order to issue a bail bond for your spouse, the bonding agent needs to know some basic information, including:
- the defendant's full legal name
- the defendant's birthday
- the defendant's Social Security number
- the court they are being held in
- the exact charges
- the amount of bail
Obtaining the Bail Bond
With this information, the bail bondsman will let you know the cost of obtaining the bond. Typically, a bail bond will cost about ten percent of the bail amount set by the court plus an administrative fee to the bonding agency. In addition, you will be required to provide a bank account or other valuable asset to serve as collateral in case your spouse doesn't appear in court. If their court date arrives and your spouses don't go to court, then the bondsman will collect the collateral and your spouse will be arrested.
For more information, reach out to bail bond services near you.
