Take one chopstick by itself and try to break it. Easy. Take a bundle of ten chopstick and try breaking it. Harder right? A similar concept when it comes when asking the court to release you on your own recognizance. What do I mean? Well, anytime a person is arrested, a decision is made whether the person should be released with a citation to appear in court. If the government decides that the person shouldn’t be released, the next question is how much should bail be set at. Depending on the type of crime, a bail amount will be set. The arrestee can then post bail (generally 10% down if going through a bail bonds man) and show up to court on the date indicated on their paperwork.
Now lets assume that a person doesn’t have money for bail, a person will generally have their arraignment within 48 hours. At the arraignment, the defendant’s attorney can ask the court to release the defendant on his/her own recognizance (his/her own promise to come back to future court hearings). This is also referred in the legal community as “O.R. release). This can be done by making arguments that the person accused of the crime is not a threat to society and has enough community and family ties to ensure his/her promise to come back and face the charges against him/her. In other words, OR release allows a person to be released without posting bail; the court relies only on their promise to come back to court.
A person who is accused of a crime should always consider hiring an attorney. The attorney would make the arguments for your release on your behalf. A good argument is to bring the support of your family and friends who are willing to vouch for you and demonstrate that you are a good member of society.
If you or a loved one has been arrested and cannot post bail, contact our law office to see how we can assist in getting you or your loved one home and out of jail.
Law Offices of Lisa Wong
(858) 609-9664
lisawong@lisawonglaw.com
