I have noticed a huge difference in the amount of bail from one offense to the other. What kind of categories draw what kind of bail amounts? For example, would there be a difference between bail for speeding and bail for an OSHA violation?
You’re right in noting that there can be a huge difference the amount of bail from one offense to the other. In general, the assumptive bail for crimes can range between about $7,500 and $1 million, depending on the offense and other factors that the judge might take into consideration when determining the bail amount. A judge might also deny bail or let a defendant out of jail on his or her own recognizance.
There are five basic penal code categories, which are:
- General
- Welfare and institutions
- Health and safety
- Business and Professions
- Vehicle Codes
When you look at the bail amounts for penal code violations within each of these categories, you will find that many of the violations are within the same assumptive bail band. Plus, while some criminal violations may seem like the same thing, the penal system views them differently. For example, burglary may have an assumptive bail between $15,000 and $30,000 for violation of penal code 459. However, burglary with explosives violated penal code 464 and has an assumptive bail of $50,000. It should also be noted that burglary with explosives is a felony, while burglary with tools (penal code violation 466) is only a misdemeanor, but it has the same assumptive bail rate.
In terms of the difference between bail for speeding and bail for an OSHA violation, as you can imagine, there are a number of variations to each penal code violation that can change the assumptive bail amount by a great deal.
In any event, when it comes to posting bail, the bail bonding agencies will treat every type of penal code violation the same way. Bail bondsmen will general post bail no matter what the penal code violation, as long as the defendant is able to come up with a ten percent down payment on the amount of the bail.
