What is a Bail Hearing?
Your first court appearance will be your bail hearing, where the judge will consider how much your bail should be; a prosecutor may advocate for it to be higher if he or she considers you a flight risk. Your defense attorney will, instead, present evidence that you will indeed appear before the court when scheduled.
An Upcoming Bail Hearing
Not knowing what to expect can make it feel stressful to go to court, but rest assured that the lawyers and the judge will do much of the talking. You will just need to be ready to answer any questions asked of you, directly and understand what is happening. To help your nerves, Bail Agent Network has created a simple checklist to prepare you for your appearance in court.
Checklist for Your Appearance in Court
- Court can be confusing, so make sure you know your way through! You should visit ahead of time to learn how to go through security correctly and get to where you need to go.
- Come prepared. Dress nice and bring all the paperwork you’ve received, as well as any identification they recommend in the paperwork. If you don’t have a lot of nice clothes, don’t sweat it, but focus on items that aren’t wrinkled or stained, with closed-toe shoes and pants; because presenting yourself well helps.
- Show up early the day of. You don’t want to be stressed by a traffic jam or accidentally miss your hearing.
- If you end up waiting through other people’s hearings, remember that this is a chance to see the process and reduce your nerves. You’ll get to know the judge’s personality, and usually if you treat them with respect, they’ll move you through the process.
- Lean on your attorney for further information; they’ve worked with this court system before, so they have good ideas about how to make the process smooth.
Have more questions or need a great bail bondsman locally? Learn more at the Bail Agent Network!
