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For many just understanding the process brings at least a little bit of comfort.
While the exact process is a bit more complicated than we explain here, our goal is to give a basic understanding of why it takes hours and hours to go through the jail system here in Harris County. We make Houston Bail Bonds so this information is only relevant to Houston and Harris County, Texas.
This process may seem complicated and for anyone other than an experienced Bail Bond Agent that's licensed to make Houston Bail Bonds, it is.
The explanations themselves make for long and boring reading.
For starters we live in a major metropolitan city and so our jails process an enormous amount of inmates every day, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, non-stop. For anyone who has experienced getting someone out of jail in other smaller cities it seems almost unbelievable.
The information given here is dealing with the way things typically work here in Houston and in Harris County Texas. A Houston Bail Bond Company must constantly adapt to changes that are made by the courts, so we use the word “typically”, because things do sometimes change and “typically”, we are the last ones to find out.
There are many jail facilities throughout Harris County and depending upon what a person is actually arrested for and what jail they are being held in the time frame can fluctuate.
If a person is arrested for a simple Class C Misdemeanor they could possibly be released from a jail within a couple of hours.
Again, this is complicated and requires a detailed explanation of what is a Class C Misdemeanor, who can charge a person with a Class C Misdemeanor, what can happen if a person is charged with a Class C Misdemeanor, what jail a person might possibly be taken to and how they are typically prosecuted.
A Class C Misdemeanor offense is the most minor type of offense with which a person can be charged.
The most typical type of Class C Misdemeanor is a traffic violation.
There are many other types of Class C Misdemeanor offenses that include but are not limited to city ordinances such as health ordinances that typically relate to a restaurant or building ordinances where certain permits are required or a violation can occur; other violations of this type might be a sign permit violation.
There are minor violations that may seem like they are more criminal in nature such as a bad check or being in possession of drug paraphernalia or possibly a simple assault or shoplifting offense.
The offenses that may seem more criminal in nature can sometimes and often are filed as more serious offenses by the arresting officer, so it is important to understand that just because these type of offenses may be filed as a Class C Misdemeanor, they can and are filed everyday as Class A and B Misdemeanors and Felony offenses too.
Another important thing to understand is what can result from something like a simple traffic stop.
Anytime a police officer detains an individual for any reason it is tantamount to an arrest, even something as simple as a police officer directing traffic. If a police officer signals you to stop, you are legally required to stop, failure to do so could possibly result in an arrest. If you are ever detained by a police officer, follow their instructions, if you are not sure of what they are trying to direct you to do, it is better to be scolded by a cop than to be arrested by one.
When a person is pulled over for a traffic violation it is extremely important to understand that just because a person may have been pulled over for speeding for example, a police officer can in most cases, at their discretion, issue a traffic ticket or make an official arrest and take that person to jail.
In most cases police officers issue a ticket, but if a person wanted to be rude to the police officer for example then they might find themselves locked up and very possibly charged with a serious offense, instead of being momentarily inconvenienced.
Class C Misdemeanors are prosecuted in the many Municipal Courts and Justice of the Peace Courts throughout Harris County Texas.
Let us use the cities of Pasadena Texas and Bellaire Texas here in Harris County Texas as an example.
Within both of these cities and many other small cities throughout Harris County many law enforcement agencies and different type of law enforcement officers patrol, issue traffic citations and make arrests for Class C Misdemeanor offenses. They also make many other arrests for more serious offenses.
For clarification we are describing officers and courts that only deal with State and Local Government.
A person could be pulled over and given a traffic ticket that constitutes a Class C Misdemeanor offense in Bellaire Texas for example by a City of Bellaire Police Officer and that person would be required to go to court at the City of Bellaire Municipal Court.
The City of Bellaire has its own local government. The citizens of Bellaire elect their own Mayor to office, and the City of Bellaire has its own Police Department. Any revenue collected by the City of Bellaire Municipal Court is used by the City of Bellaire for the City of Bellaire.
A person could be pulled over in Pasadena Texas, another municipality within Harris County Texas. The City of Pasadena also has their own elected Mayor, and their own city government, and their own Police Department, and their own Municipal Court, so the as you can see the scenario is identical to our City of Bellaire scenario. However in this scenario we are going to change something, this time our person is going to be pulled over by a Harris County Constable or a Harris County Sheriff or a Department of Public Safety Patrol Officer. In this scenario that person would have to appear in court at a Justice of the Peace Court. The Justice of the Peace Courts prosecute class C misdemeanors for the State of Texas, more specifically for Harris County Texas. If a person is pulled over and is given a traffic citation by one of these law enforcement officers then the Justice of the Peace Court that they will be required to appear in will be one within the Precinct where they were pulled over. Harris County is divided by 8 different Precincts. Any revenue collected by a Justice of the Peace Court in Harris County Texas is used by Harris County for Harris County.
All of this information relates to getting released from jail in the following manner and only covers the most common scenarios as police agencies interact with each other in different ways.
If a person is pulled over in the City of Pasadena by a City of Pasadena Police Officer and that person has an open warrant for their arrest because they failed to appear in court for a traffic violation, and they received the original citation by a City of Pasadena Police Officer in the City of Pasadena and failed to appear in the City of Pasadena Municipal Court then the Pasadena Police Officer is required to make an arrest and take that person to the City of Pasadena jail. Obtaining the release of this person by posting a bond with a Harris County Bail Bondsman, licensed to make Houston Bail Bonds or obtaining the release by paying a fine could all take place within one to two hours.
This same exact scenario if dealing with a City of Houston Police Officer and the City of Houston Municipal Court and the City of Houston Jail could take much longer. The City of Houston Police Department is much larger and processes a great deal more inmates through it. The time frame with the City of Houston can fluctuate hour by hour. A person may have had this happen in the past and was able to get someone out of jail in an hour or two but now find themselves waiting over twelve hours for the exact same type of situation.
If a person is pulled over in the City of Pasadena by a City of Pasadena Police Officer and that person has an open warrant for their arrest because they failed to appear in court for a traffic violation, and they received the original citation by a City of Bellaire Police Officer in the City of Bellaire and failed to appear in the City of Bellaire Municipal Court then the Pasadena Police Officer is required to make an arrest and take that person to the City of Pasadena jail.
When a warrant of arrest is issued for any misdemeanor or felony offense, the law enforcement agency within the jurisdiction of the Court that issued the warrant is supposed to enter the warrant information into the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) and in Texas the TCIC (Texas Crime Information Center) system. If a person has an open warrant for their arrest the police agency that has that person in custody is required by due process to immediately take that person to the nearest jail facility within their own jurisdiction. If a person is pulled over by a Pasadena Police Officer and that person has an open warrant, anywhere in the United States the Pasadena Police Officer is mandated by law to arrest and transport that person to the nearest jail facility in Pasadena Texas.
At this point several things are possible to obtain the release of the person in jail depending upon the policies and procedures of each individual police department.
In some cases the release can be obtained by taking a bond to the jail that is holding the person and having that person sign and thumb print a bail bond, then taking that bail bond to the court or in some cases to the jail of the court that issued the warrant. In the above scenario where the person has an open warrant in Bellaire Texas and is pulled over by a Pasadena Texas Police Officer and then arrested and taken to the Pasadena Jail to be held for the City of Bellaire, then that police agency (the Bellaire Police Department) can issue a release of that person to the jail they are currently being held in (in this scenario the Pasadena Jail).
If either Police agency (Pasadena or Bellaire) chooses not to operate in this manner then in this scenario the Bellaire Police Department would be required to go to the Pasadena Jail and pick up their prisoner and take him/her to the Bellaire Jail and after this process is complete release the person in jail through a bail bond or fine situation from the Bellaire Jail.
In the second scenario the time frame could be hours and hours.
Next we take a look at the scenario of someone being arrested by any Police Agency and in this case (the City of Pasadena Police Department) for an open warrant that was issued by a Justice of the Peace Court somewhere in Harris County Texas, in this particular case (Precinct 4 Position 2 Justice of the Peace Court located in Humble Texas in Harris County Texas) for a failure to appear in court warrant for a traffic violation.
This scenario has several possibilities depending upon the day of the week, the time of day and how quickly the police agency that is holding the prisoner or the police agency that is holding the warrant for the prisoner wishes to act.
It is possible under certain circumstances to obtain the release of someone being held in most jails for a Justice of the Peace warrant, the exception is the Harris County Jail, in this particular case we are going to use the above scenario of the (the Pasadena Jail).
The circumstances for being released from any jail other than the Harris County Jail deal mostly with the time factor.
To obtain a release for a prisoner from a jail who is being held on Justice of the Peace charges a person has to obtain the release from the Justice of the Peace Court during the Courts normal hours of operation, (Monday through Friday) between the hours of 8am to 6pm and these hours vary among Justice of the Peace Courts, (some close earlier in the day).
Again the bail bond itself must be signed and thumb printed by the person in the Pasadena jail, and then taken to the court to obtain a release. The Justice of the Peace Courts have long lines of people and in most cases it is difficult to obtain a release before the Justice of the Peace Court closes. If a release cannot be obtained before the Justice of the Peace Court closes then the prisoner must be transferred from Pasadena to the Harris County Jail and then released.
If someone is in the Harris County Jail for a Justice of the Peace offense then they can be released directly from the Harris County Jail. In most cases if a person is being held in the Harris County Jail for a Justice of the Peace offense and that is the only reason they are being held they will be released from jail without having to post a bond.
If a person is arrested for anything other than a Class C Misdemeanor it is considered a County Charge by a bail bondsman. County charges are Class A and B misdemeanor offenses and Felony Offenses.
Class A and B Misdemeanor offenses are prosecuted in the Harris County Criminal Courts and include but are not limited to charges such as DWI, Possession of marijuana, theft, assault and many other offenses that while being serious offenses are still not considered as serious as a felony offense.
Felony offenses are prosecuted in the State District Courts and include but are not limited to DWI 3rd offense, large quantities of marijuana, possession of control substance, robbery, assault and many other offenses that are considered to be more serious in nature.
If a person is arrested for a Class A or B Misdemeanor or a Felony offense the time frame to be released from jail is much longer no matter what jail facility the prisoner is being held in.
A formal complaint is filed with the Harris County District Attorney by the arresting police agency.
If the charges are accepted then a bond is set and the information is entered into the Harris County Records and if the person in jail has been given a bond (sometimes criminal defendants are no bonded which means they cannot be released from jail), but if they are given a bond then they are able to be released from jail.
The process of being formally charged and being able to post a bond usually takes between 8 and 12 hours it can certainly take longer. The process of being released from any jail other than the Harris County Jail once a bail bond has been posted usually takes an hour or two.
The process of getting out of the Harris County Jail once a bail bond has been posted can take anywhere from 2 hours to 12 hours and can certainly take longer. The typical time frame to be released from the Harris County Jail once a bail bond has been posted is between 6 hours and 12 hours.
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