Bada Bing Bail Bonds Houston - Bail Bondsman

You may not need a bail bondsman...

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Written by Jack Meyer

This is probably not what you will hear from any bail bondsman anywhere. And yet, this is typical information we give out daily; you may not need a bail bondsman.
 
There are many situations where a bail bond may not be needed.

These are all separate issues, so I am going to explain them one at a time.

(Harris County bail bonds)

When someone is charged with a first offense misdemeanor for a case prosecuted in the Harris County Criminal Court there’s always a strong possibility that this person may be released on a PR bond (personal recognizance). This is a bond given by a judge in the Harris County Jail and it means that they are simply released from jail on their promise that they will appear in court each and every time their case is heard until final disposition.

If a person is not released this way by a judge in the 24 hour court that exists in the Harris County Jail then they may still be released this way by the judge of the court where their criminal case will be heard. This means that they will remain in jail until they are taken to court from jail on their first court hearing date.

Technically their first hearing is always with the court in the jail, this is a temporary probable cause court. It is a court just like any other court and the judge in that court can do many things. He/she can accept pleas of guilty, raise bonds, lower bonds, release people on their own recognizance, all the same things that any other judge can do. However, if nothing is resolved in this court then the person in jail already has a court assigned to them and that will be the court where their case will be heard from there forward.

There is no guarantee that a person will be released this way. However, if you call our office we will be happy to direct you to where to go and find out.

A first offense misdemeanor prosecuted in the Harris County Criminal Court is not the same as a Class C misdemeanor or a Felony. Class C misdemeanors are prosecuted in the Justice of the Peace Courts and in the various cities municipal courts scattered throughout Harris County. Felonies are prosecuted in the District Court.

If a person is in the City of Houston Jail, which means they were arrested by the Houston Police Department (HPD), then the wait time for this possibility could easily take more than a day or two. A person arrested by HPD is taken to the City of Houston Jail first (always), and will remain in custody there until a formal complaint has been filed and accepted by the Harris County District Attorney’s office. This is a long process that typically takes from 8 to 12 hours. It can certainly take longer depending upon many different factors.

Once a person in the city jail has been formally charged with a Class A or B misdemeanor or a felony offense then that person will be transferred from the city jail to the county jail.

The process of being transferred can take many hours depending on many other factors. If HPD has a hold on a person, (which happens all the time), then the person will sit in the city jail until the hold is released. If there are no holds then the person will be put on a (drag) list and will be transported to the county jail. Sometimes the county jail will not accept new people right away because they are overcrowded, if this happens then the process of being transferred to the county jail can take hours longer.

Once a person gets to the county jail the process of being booked into jail can take 8 to 12 hours and sometime after that is when they will finally appear before the 24 hour court in the jail. So to wait and see if a person may get a PR bond could take a day or two in some cases and within 8 or more hours for other cases depending on what jail the person is taken to originally.