Criminal Defense Lawyer | DWI, Drug, Theft & Assault Charges

By Collin County Criminal Defense Lawyer Jeremy Rosenthal

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(972) 369-0577

A bond is an amount of money set by a magistrate judge to secure the release of someone arrested.  It is the state’s collateral to assure the arrested person appears for future criminal proceedings.

As a quick reference guide, you’ll find bond statutes in the Texas Constitution and throughout the Code of Criminal Procedure in Chapters 15, 16, 17, 44, 45, 47 and 55.  So if you’re paging through the code, you’ll have to be diligent and thorough.

In some instances people are not eligible to even have a bond set.  This obviously means they can’t get out of jail.  In other instances, their right to have a bond set may be discretionary by the Court — meaning bail can be denied.  Judges can also impose limitations or conditions of bond such as a deep lung device for DWI arrests or no-contact provisions for family assault cases.

Here’s a quick cheat-sheet:

Misdemeanor arrests:  Yes (eligible for a bond)

Misdemeanor probation revocations/ adjudications: Yes

Misdemeanor appeals:  Yes

Felony arrests:  Yes

Felony adjudications: Yes

Felony probation revocations:  Discretionary (up to the Judge)

Felony Appeals:  Yes, if the sentence is 10 years or less and is not offense under 3g(a)(1) of Art. 42.12.

Felony Appeal where higher court reverses conviction: Yes (regardless of amount of imprisonment).

Felony PDR (Petition for Discretionary Review): Discretionary, set by Court or Criminal Appeals

Always contact an attorney if you have questions about a bond in certain situations.

If conditions of bond are violated, in certain circumstances, then future bond can be denied altogether.  Examples are for violent offenders or for crimes against children.

*Jeremy Rosenthal is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and licensed by the Supreme Court of Texas. Nothing in this article is intended to be legal advice.  For specific legal advice about any situation you should contact an attorney directly.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 29th, 2010 at 10:30 am and is filed under Jail Release, Uncategorized, writ bonds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response.