arrest lawyer

The police officer makes an arrest in Michigan when he or she determines that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed.

For petty or minor offenses the police officer may release the individual on their own personal recognizance with instructions to contact the Court for an arraignment date or that they will be contacted at a later date with a Court date. Sometimes an interim bond is allowed to be posted with the arresting police agency prior to arraignment.

For more serious offenses, or sometimes due to local policies, the person arrested is not given a bond until he or she is arraigned in front of a magistrate or Judge. If the person is taken into custody at the police station or county jail, he or she is booked and fingerprinted. The person accused usually has an opportunity to make a telephone call from the police station or county jail to a family member if he or she is detained. When a family member calls from jail it is important not to discuss the details of the case in as much as the phone call is usually recorded or monitored. Your first step is to hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer.

The purpose behind the setting of bond or bail is to ensure that the Defendant appears at future Court dates, and to protect society from danger. Courts, when they set a bond can consider: personal bonds (which means that no money has to be paid for the Defendant to remain free in the community); cash bonds; surety bonds; and 10% provisions (which means that the Court only requires 10% of the total bond amount to be posted. The Court, however, will keep 10% of the 10% posted at the conclusion of the case – provided that the bond is not forfeited by the Court because of a violation of the bond by the Defendant).

The Court can deny any bond if the Defendant is charged with murder or treason. Also, if the accusation is a violent felony, and at the time of the alleged commission of the violent felony, the Defendant was on probation, parole, released pending trial for another alleged violent felony, OR during the 15 years preceding the alleged violent felony, the Defendant had been convicted of 2 or more violent felonies arising out of separate incidents, the Court can also deny bond if the Court finds that proof of the Defendant’s guilt is evident or the presumption is great. The Court also has the ability to revoke the Defendant’s bond upon conviction and prior to sentencing for a violent felony offense.

Other than that, the Court has to set a bond. However, Judge’s have wide discretion to set unreasonable bonds. Because some Courts have tendencies to set unreasonable bonds, it is important that the Defendant is represented by an experienced and talented attorney who is prepared to address the issue with the Court.

Articles Tagged with arrest lawyer

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