What does it mean to jump bail? It is pretty common to see people released on bail before appearing in court. However, what happens when a person in this position fails to turn up? You can be sure that such a person is in for it indeed. In such cases, jail time is almost unavoidable without a good reason.
What does it mean to jump bail?
People make mistakes, and many times they get punished for it. When a person gets charged with an offense, they must appear in court, hence taking the name — “defendant.” Such a person, in most cases, will face a hearing. The judge decides the amount as a bail charge to the court before appearing in court.
When a defendant finds it hard to pay the bail, there are bail bond agents to help. Their part is to help supply the money. With this in place, the defendant is free to develop the defense for their case with their attorney. When the defendant shows up for the trial, the bail bondsmen collect their money back. This fee is collected from the court and carried on to help the next person in need. However, when otherwise, the person has jumped or skipped bail.
Does Missing Bail Ultimately Mean Skipping Bail?
There are moments when the defendant puts forward good reasons for missing the trial. The defendant may also be let free of the charge of jumping bail if they can show up within a specified period. If able to successfully plead with the court to reset the date or recall an already issued bench warrant, the attorney or bondsman may help lessen the usual penalties.
What Happens When You Jump Bail?
The court notices the bail agency the minute it realizes that the defendant has failed to show up for the trial. Following this, the court gives the bond dealers a specific time limit to find the defendant, and the bail fee already paid the bail agency gets defaulted. Commonly, a bench warrant is issued for the defendant’s arrest, and the bail agent moves to obtain a new court date.
Are There Valid Excuses that justify jumping bail??
Indeed, there are valid excuses that can get a defendant out of the offense of jumping bail; however, this is not always an easy task. Shreds of evidence and the authority have a lot to say on whether an accused’s reason can be considered justified or valid enough as a defense. This might require the assistance of a private investigator or a professional private investigation agency. On the other hand, courts have dismissed reasons for poisoning and medications. Subsequently, physical and mental illnesses are also further questioned in terms of validity.
Can we consider Bail Jumping as a Criminal Offence?
A bail jumping condition typically is deemed an offense when the state can prove that the defendant intentionally failed to turn up. If the defendant can prove that he doesn’t have the proper court date notice, he may turn away the charge. However, this might be challenging to achieve as the bail bondsmen usually try to get the correct information across most times. Here is where you might need the services of a private investigator OKC.
The defendant may also get himself acquitted of the bail jumping charge if he can tender a justifiable reason for not keeping to the given time. Most reasonable excuses tend to get based on situations out of the defendant’s control. As the judges have a lot of flexibility, this can help. However, this too is hard to prove, but one can still gain some advantage with a reasonable attorney.
When is a Bail Jump Justifiable?
Judges have a lot of flexibility in deciding whether a justification is sufficient to get out of the charge. In most cases, drinking is regarded as a situation that a defendant can control.
A good defense is only achieved if the defendant’s condition is visibly extreme. It can be that they were hospitalized and hence incapable of appearing. The case can get better once the criminal defendant can ascertain their ultimate unfitness or other severe situations. However, vital evidence is needed to back this up, as words alone, of course, cannot be taken up for this. A private investigator OKC, can help.
Consequences of jumping bail in Oklahoma City
Crime
When a defendant fails to appear in time for a trial within a specified court-given time frame, such a person is issued a criminal offense of Bail Jumping. Once the bail case is filed, a suspect may have 30 days to submit while criminal charges are given out. In some places, bail jumping is only a crime if the offender faces criminal charges in the pending lawsuit, and in others, any offense will be sufficient.
Penalty
In many states, bail jumping carries a maximum penalty proportional to the primary crimes. It should be worthy of note that in Oklahoma, anyone who jumps bail prompts the forfeiture of such bail. They will be charged with a case of felony and also fined. The fine is usually not more than One Thousand Dollars, or the person may otherwise be charged with imprisonment not more than one year, or in some cases, charged with both.
When the Criminal Defendant Returns: What Happens?
Naturally, defendants in court are assumed innocent until proven otherwise. However, when a defendant runs and fails to show up within a given time frame, he is soon supposed guilty and inevitably guilty of Bail Jumping. The specified time frame after missing a trial is usually five days for Oklahoma.
Once the bail agency can track down the criminal defendant, he gets turned into the hands of the law enforcement agency. After this, the court is informed about the criminal defendant’s return. The bail agent will get the bail money back once this occurs.
If it was the law enforcement that was able to get the defendant, on the other hand, it is still possible for the bail agency to get the bail fee out of default.
Conclusion
Proving a bail jumping case can prove tricky even with enough evidence. Therefore, it is usually advised for it to be avoided at all costs. Notwithstanding, this is not the end, of course, because, as stated earlier, the judges are pretty flexible under the right approach.
