Wherever you are in the U.S. there are some things that are constants: taxes, rude cab drivers, and posting a bail bond if you get arrested. If you're someone who hasn't had many brushes with the law, then there are probably a lot of things that you don't know about getting bail bonds in Seattle, Phoenix, or any other city. However, the good thing is that the procedures are all pretty similar, no matter where you go.

Okay, let's say that you get arrested for being drunk and disorderly when you're downtown. You generally have around five options if you happen to get pinched. First, you can get a bail bondsman to post a surety bond. Or, you can post a property bond, where you put up something like your home, business or another piece of property as collateral for your bond. If you can swing it financially, you can always post a cash bond. They always deal in cash, and therefore you cannot write a personal check. The cops will just laugh at you. Cash in hand is the only language that they understand. Then again, when you're brought before a judge, you could luck out and get released on your own recognizance. Generally the judge would have to recognize that you're a generally solid citizen with no prior arrest record and you don't pose a flight risk, like you might if you're a foreign national with no visa. Finally, you could just get released on citation. However, you can't count on these last two eventualities, so consider your options if you have to post bond to get out of jail.

If you can get bail, the paperwork can take as little as 20-45 minutes, depending on how complex the process is. If you're in a local police station, you could be free in as little as an hour. If you're put into a county slammer, you could be looking at anywhere between one to twelve hours in custody before you can get released. None of this is guaranteed of course. You ma
y run into bad luck or other factors that will keep you in jail longer than that. Similarly though, the jail could be at capacity and you might get away with early release. You just can never be sure. But, if you've retained a reliable bail bond service, then don't freak out. They will get you out of jail just as soon as they can. After all, it's good business for them to serve their clients' needs as promptly as possible.

You might be asking yourself how the amount of bail is determined. There are several things that come into play when a judge is considering the amount of bail that you have to post. How serious is the crime that you're being charged with? There's a world of difference between getting charged with shoplifting and assault with a deadly weapon. Some crimes are considered so serious that there is no chance of getting bail. Murder, rape, or kidnapping are examples of such serious offenses. In cases like that, you're going to stay in custody until your trial.

A judge also considers a person's prior criminal history. Do you have any prior convictions? How many? What kind of offenses are they for? The age of the convictions is also something that a judge will take into consideration. If you have a DUI arrest that's 20 years ago and no criminal record since, that's a whole lot different than if you just got released on a rape charge last week. Then again, if you've never committed any other crimes, but you've just been brought in for attempted murder, that will certainly color the judge's decision on whether or not to grant you bail. Also, if you have any outstanding bench warrants, then your bail may be denied or be set at a level that it's just impossible for you to make bail.

If you find yourself in the dilatation we've listed above, then it's in your best interest to contact a reliable company for their services. Bail bonds in Seattle and other US cities are easy to find. With the information you've learned here you are well on your way to being released from the slammer.