Information about bail bonds in Houston for Municipal Class C Misdemeanor arrest and release.
B. MUNICIPAL Class C misdemeanors, these are primarily traffic ticket offenses. A Class C misdemeanor can be other minor offenses such as a minor theft, drug paraphernalia, a minor assault and others, again it depends on how a case is filed.
1. Arrest and taken directly to the Harris County Jail
2. Arrest and taken to the City of Houston Jail
(1) When someone has been arrested and is charged with a Class C misdemeanor municipal case and taken directly to the Harris County Jail.
This typically happens when a person has also been charged with some other type of offense that falls under the umbrella of Harris County Jurisdiction, a felony or a class A or B misdemeanor or a Justice of the Peace class C misdemeanor. Rarely if ever is a person taken to the Harris County Jail because they have an open warrant for a class C misdemeanor that is not Harris County related.
If a hold is placed on a person in the Harris County Jail for a class C misdemeanor out of a municipality (a city police department) then Harris County will notify that particular police department to come and pick up the prisoner. Harris County will not release the defendant on a bond or accept a bail bond or allow a bail bond to be signed and thumb printed by the defendant in order to be released from the Harris County Jail. The person must be transferred to the other municipality and arrangements for bail can then be made.
Because Harris County will not allow for bond to be posted then when the person is being released from Harris County for whatever other county related charges the person was being held for, it is possible for a person to be released from the Harris County Jail and still have an open warrant with a municipality somewhere else because Harris County will not hold the person in custody.
(2) When someone has been arrested and taken to the City of Houston Jail for a municipal class C misdemeanor.
If the person has been arrested for a class C misdemeanor case with the City of Houston Municipal Court (only) and does not have a hold any place else then the person will be taken to court within a few hours of arrest, this almost always takes place before a bond can be posted.
Depending then on the results from court a person is either released for time served, rescheduled to go back to court the following day, or they may have fines that either have to be paid or sat out doing jail time.
If a person pleads not guilty when they go to court then a bail bond can be posted before they are taken back to court the following day. If a bail bond is not posted before court the following day then the person will wither be released because the case was dismissed, or if found guilty be released for time served or have fines that have to be paid or sat out doing jail time. The time frame for being released at the City of Houston Jail is between 1 to 5 hours. Bail bonds in Houston for Municipal Class C misdemeanors typically range from $200.00 to $500.00.
If the person has a hold for a class C misdemeanor with another municipality then it is possible to post a bail bond to have the person released from the City of Houston Jail. In order to do this a bail bond for the other municipality must first be taken to the City of Houston Jail and the person in jail must sign and thumbprint the bail bond.
After the person has signed and thumb printed the bail bond then the bond must be taken to the municipal court or police department if after hours and the court is closed. That court or police department will then notify HPD that the hold has been released.
If a bail bond is not posted then the person will be transferred to the jail that has the hold.
(3) When a person is arrested and taken to another municipality within Harris County i.e. small municipalities such as the City of Bellaire, the City of Pasadena, the City of Humble, etc.
When a person has been arrested by a small municipality in Harris County such as the City of Bellaire, the City of Pasadena, the City of Humble, etc. then release depends on several factors as each court and jail do things (their way).
Sometimes the person is taken in front of a judge quickly and other times they may have to sit in until the next day. For most of these small municipalities it really does depend on if the judge chooses to see them quickly or the next day so there is no real uniform procedure other than to call the jail and ask when the person will see a judge.
If the person is going to see a judge then it is best to wait and see what happens in court before attempting to post a bail bond. If the person pleads guilty they may be released for time served or have fines that need to be paid or sat out doing jail time. If the person pleads not guilty then they will probably be rescheduled to appear in court the next day and arrangements can be made for a bail bond.
The time frame for release in the smaller municipalities is relatively fast within an hour or less.
If the person has a hold for a class C misdemeanor with another municipality then it is possible to post a bail bond to have the person released from the Jail of that municipality; in order to do this a bail bond for the other municipality must first be taken to the Jail and the person in jail must sign and thumbprint the bail bond.
After the person has signed and thumb printed the bail bond then the bond must be taken to the municipal court or police department if after hours and the court is closed. That court or police department will then notify the other jail that the hold has been released.
If a bail bond is not posted then the person will be transferred to the jail that has the hold. Bail Bonds in Houston for Class C misdemeanors can be confusing if you have any questions please call Bada Bing Bail Bonds, we are here to help.