What Happens If You Have Been Arrested?
When you have been arrested, you want to do everything that you can to get out of jail as soon as possible. Before anything happens, though, you are going to have to appear before the court. The judge will then decide what's going to happen to you. So, what's going to happen?
Arraignment
This is the hearing when you go up before the judge. This is the first time you are going to appear in court, and the judge you see and the prosecuting attorney in the hearing aren't the necessarily the ones you will be dealing with if you go to trial. You should have a lawyer there, who could be a public defender or one you hired yourself. The lawyer will likely be the one who defends you through the whole process. The arraignment hearing will generally not take all that long. It's just going to be long enough for the prosecutor to list charges, you to make your plea, and for your attorney to talk about jail or release. Once you have made your plea and the attorneys have talked about whether or not there is the chance for release, the judge will make the final disposition. What are the choices they can make?
Held Over
The judge can decide to have you held over until your trial. That means that you won't be able to get out of jail, you will be staying there until you go to trial. If you are accused of serious crimes or are a repeat offender, this may be the decision that the judge makes.
House Arrest
Another option the judge has is to place you under house arrest. With this choice, you will wear an ankle tracking monitor. You will have certain places that you are allowed to go to and certain times in which you can be there. For example, you may have permission to go to work. You can only be there at certain times and the route you would take to and from work be set out and timed for you. If you deviate from that route or are gone longer than you should be, then you can be arrested.
Bail
The judge may release you on bail. For this, you will generally need to go to a bail bond agency. You put down a certain percentage of your bail amount, and the bail agent will pay the court your bail. They are guaranteeing that you will appear for your court date. If you don't, whatever money or collateral you put up is forfeit. The bail agent may also send someone out to pick you up and take you to court.
If you have been arrested, you don't want to stay in jail a second longer than you have to. There are ways that you can get out. For more information, you can start by clicking here.
