Setting Bail Amounts

Bail Amounts

510-760-9409

State law gives judges wide discretion on setting bail amounts for offenses. In most Counties the Circuit Court does have a bail schedule for felony and misdemeanor offenses that the Judges use as a guide. 

“Be aware, these are just guides,” said David Laskey. “Judges can raise or lower a defendant’s bail after considering the specifics of each case. The bail schedules are used as guide to start setting a bail. A judge can raise the bail amount or lower the bail amount. Many things to go into setting a person’s bail.” Judges have a wide discretion in determining one’s bail amount.

Some points a judge may consider when setting bail are:

• Prior offenses.
• Other charges filed at the same time.
• Extenuating or exacerbating circumstances.
• Defendants ties to the community

Judges have a lot of leeway in setting someone’s bail amount. Bail bondsmen have nothing do with how much the defendant’s bail is. At 510 Bail Bonds, we post the bail for you that is set by the judge. The bail schedules include worksheets for a judge to use when setting a bail. This is just a guide line; the judge can set the bail higher or lower per his discretion.

You can do the worksheet yourself. However, the amount you come up with may be different from what a judge decides. The worksheet is just a guide and judges are not bound to stay with those exact numbers.

For more information about bail bonds, visit our web site at

www.510bailbond.com or call

510-760-9409.

Bail – It’s what we do.