How to Post Bail in Riverside County

If your loved one was arrested in Riverside County, you are probably wondering how you can get your loved one out of jail as soon as possible. Your first thought may be to post bail so that your loved one can be released, but you may be making a big mistake if you post bail right away.

Our experienced Riverside criminal defense lawyers may be able to help you save thousands of dollars on bail. Let’s explore what happens when your loved one is arrested and how you can post bail in Riverside County.

Was Your Loved One Arrested in Riverside County?

When someone is arrested in Riverside County, that person is booked and held in custody at one of the following jail facilities:

• The Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside
• Indio Jail
• Blythe Jail
• The Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta
• The Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning

The place where your loved one is being held depends upon where the arrest was made. You can learn more about jails within the county on our Riverside jail information page.

Riverside Bail Schedule: How Much Will I Have to Pay for Bail?

“Bail” is an amount of money that a defendant can pay to be released from custody while his or her criminal case is pending. It essentially serves as a financial guarantee that the defendant will show up for all court appearances. As long as the defendant attends all court dates, the bail money will be returned after the conclusion of the case. However, the defendant will forfeit the bail amount if he or she fails to attend all court appearances in a timely manner.

When a person is arrested, bail is normally set in accordance with the the Riverside County Bail Schedule. The bail schedule is determined by the judges in Riverside County on an annual basis.

The bail amount will be higher for felony charges than misdemeanor charges. However, in some cases, the arresting law enforcement officer can ask for a bail deviation, which would normally mean setting the bail initially at a higher amount than the bail schedule.

If bail is not posted by the accused, he or she is required to come to court for an arraignment within two court days of the arrest. At this court hearing, the accused’s lawyer will ask the court to either release the accused on his “own recognizance” – which means on his promise to appear without having to pay any money to be released – or to lower the bail amount. The prosecution can ask that the court raise the bail amount at this hearing.

The judge will then decide what the bail will be. The court will consider whether you would be a danger to the community if you are granted bail and the likelihood that you will appear at future court hearings when deciding whether to increase or reduce your bail amount. The court will also consider the safety of the alleged victim and your prior criminal history, if any.

How to Save Money on Riverside Bail Bonds

Although your first instinct may be to post bail if your loved one is arrested in Riverside, you should know that doing so before speaking to an experienced criminal defense lawyer could cost you thousands of dollars.

Once you hire Wallin & Klarich, our experienced Riverside criminal defense lawyers will jump into action immediately. We may be able to contact the Riverside Detention Release Officer on duty to request that your loved one be released on his or her “own recognizance,” which means you will not have to pay any bail at all. Alternatively, our criminal lawyers may be able to convince prosecutors not to file criminal charges against your loved one, which would allow him or her to be released from custody without posting bail.

Another opportunity for our Riverside lawyers to save you money on bail bonds is to ask for the court to reduce the bail. The judge will consider many factors when determining bail, including:

• Your ability to pay the bail amount
• The seriousness and circumstances of the alleged offense
• The probability that you will appear at all future court appearances
• Your prior criminal history, and
• Public safety

Our criminal defense attorneys will use these factors to try to have the bail amount reduced for your loved one.

If your loved one is required to pay bail to be released from custody, hiring our knowledgeable criminal lawyers will allow you to gain access to “attorney-referred bail.” Most bail bondsmen in Riverside County charge a 10 percent to bail your loved one out of custody. However, with attorney-referred bail, the bail bonds agent will charge you 8 percent of the bail amount.

Thus, if bail is set at $100,000, you will have to pay $8,000 to a bail bonds agent in Riverside with attorney-referred bail, while you would otherwise have to pay $10,000. This is an immediate savings of $2,000 just for hiring an experienced criminal attorney to represent you. Not only does hiring a private criminal attorney provide you with the best possible defense to the charges against you, it also makes financial sense.

How to Post Bail in Riverside County

In order to bail someone out of jail in Riverside County, you can use one of three methods:

• Cash bail
• Bail bonds, or
• Property bonds

To post bail for an inmate, you can visit the jail facility where the inmate is being held. Bail can be posted in the lobby of the jail at any time.

Let’s examine the different ways to post bail in Riverside:

Cash Bail (1269 PC)

Cash bail is when you pay the full bail amount in cash or via a cashier’s check. Let’s say the bail after arrest is set at $50,000. You or a loved one will bring a cashier’s check made payable to the Riverside Superior Court to the lobby of the jail where you or your loved one is being held. You do not pay a bail bondsman if you post cash bail in Riverside.

At the end of the case, if the accused has made all of his or her court appearances, Riverside County will return the $50,000 to the person who posted the bail. Note that the money will not be returned until 6 to 10 weeks after the case concludes.

Additionally, you need to know that under California Penal Code Section 1305, you will forfeit the money to the court if the inmate fails to appear at any court date.

Bail Bonds (1276 PC)

Bail bonds are the most common way to post bail in Riverside County.

A bail bond is a contract between the defendant and a bail bondsman. Under this agreement, a Riverside bail bondsman will pay the bail amount and the defendant promises to appear at all court dates. The defendant (or the defendant’s family) pays a non-refundable premium to the bail bondsman.

Bail bonds agents in Riverside typically charge a fee of 10 percent of the bail amount set by the court. For example, if the bail is set at $100,000, you will pay the bondsman $10,000 and the bondsman will post bail. In this case, you will not receive your money back if you make all court appearances because the bail bond agent will receive the money. Once you hire a bail bondsman and pay him his fee you are not entitled to a refund, even if criminal charges are not filed.

If you fail to appear at any of your court dates, the bail bond agent forfeits the bail money. Thus, Riverside bail bondsmen are motivated to monitor you and make sure you appear in court. In many cases, bail bondsmen ask for collateral from you that can be used to cover the bail amount. This will cover their potential loses if you do not make your court appearances.

Before you go to a Riverside bail bonds agent, you need to know that hiring an attorney before you post bail will give you access to attorney-referred bail. This will entitle you to an 8 percent rate for a bail bond instead of the typical 10 percent rate. This could help you save thousands of dollars.

Another important reason to contact our Riverside lawyers before posting bail is that our law firm can help you determine whether you should wait to post bail until your loved one makes his or her first court appearance. In some cases, we can convince the court to reduce the bail or release the accused on his own recognizance. If either of these things occurs, you have saved a tremendous amount of money by retaining our law firm before posting bail.

Property Bond (1276.5 PC)

Another option for posting bail in Riverside County is property bond. This is a complicated process.

Property bond requires you to post equity interest in property with a value of at least twice the bail amount. For example, if the bail amount is set at $100,000, you must post property that the court is satisfied has a value of $200,000 or more.

Property that you use to post bail in Riverside must meet all of the following requirements:

• It was recently appraised
• You have disclosed any liens on the property, and
• The property equity must have been estimated by a professional

If you fail to appear in court after you have posted property bond, Riverside County will place a lien on the property and can foreclose on the property to recover the bail amount.

Don’t Waste Money on Bail. Call Our Riverside Criminal Defense Attorneys Today

Before you rush to bail your loved one out jail, remember that an experienced criminal defense attorney may be able to help you save thousands of dollars on bail in Riverside. Our skilled and knowledgeable criminal defense attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been representing clients facing criminal charges in Riverside for more than 40+ years. We can help you now.

If your loved one was arrested in Riverside County, contact Wallin & Klarich today. Our law firm has developed a track record of success in criminal cases due to our aggressive representation.

Don’t waste money on bail. Call our Riverside law firm today at (877) 466-5245 so we can discuss how we may be able to save you thousands of dollars on bail bonds fees.