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Tips
for Austin Texas DWI Arrest Defense
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In Travis County, judges are available to set the bail amount between approximately 7 A.M. and 1:00 A.M. People who are arrested after 1:00 A.M. (like most DWIs, for example) will not have a bail amount set until sometime in the morning – or even the next afternoon. Once a bond amount has been set, there are four ways to be released from jail. These are Cash Bonds, Personal Bonds, Lawyer Assisted Bonds and Surety Bonds.
Cash
bonds
This is simply a matter of depositing with the jail the full amount
of the bond. Travis County Jail will only accept cashier’s checks or
money orders in the amount of the bail (not cash).
There are a couple reasons why this is often not the best option for
someone trying to be released from jail. First, since bond is
usually set in the thousands, rather than hundreds of dollars, many
people will find they can not come up with the funds as quickly as
their friend or loved one needs to get out of jail. Secondly, the
money will be tied up until the case is resolved – which could be a
year or even longer. This is generally not a good use of cash funds.
Personal Bonds
Sometime after the arrest, the Travis County PreTrial Services Office will interview an arrestee, to see whether they qualify for a
personal bond. If they do qualify, the person will only be required
to pay a $20 PR Bond fee to the office. This is the cheapest way to
get out of jail. However, it too is often not the best option for
the recently arrested person.
First, if a person is arrested in the middle of the night (say 2:00
A.M. for a DWI), the judge will not see them to set a bond until
sometime much closer to noon – or even afternoon.
Secondly,
depending on the number of people arrested, it can take
the PreTrial Services Office more than 12 hours to approve a bond
for any particular individual. It is not unusual for someone
arrested for DWI at 2:00 A.M. to be released on Personal Bond
sometime between 2 and 6 P.M. Most of my clients want to be released
much sooner than that, if at all possible.
Third, there is a very strict criteria that the Pretrial Service
Office uses to determine if a person is eligible for a personal
bond. Very often, a person will not be approved for a Personal Bond
unless an attorney is retained.
Lawyer Assisted Bonds
There are several ways that I as a lawyer can help you get out of
jail. Again, if you are seeking to get someone out of the Travis
County Jail during the night please click this link. (HOBBY RELEASE)
First, I am often able to speed up the Personal Bond Process. Even
if PreTrial Services wouldn’t have turned in a bond until sometime
in the afternoon, I am usually able to speed that process up and get
it turned in sometime shortly after 8 A.M. This can save the client
many unpleasant hours in jail.
Second, if the client was not going to qualify for a personal bond,
I can often get a percentage cash deposit bond approved. In most
cases, this money can be applied towards the fee I charge to
represent the person in court.
Third, if the person is arrested and booked, but has not seen the
judge to have a bond amount set, in Travis County, only a lawyer can
get him out in the middle of the night. This is called a HOBBY
RELEASE. There are several conditions that must be met for a person
to be eligible for a Travis County hobby release.
Surety
or bail bonds
Finally, in some cases it is necessary for someone to hire a bail
bond company to guarantee the amount of the bond. Bail bond
companies typically charge at least 15-20% of the bond amount to get
someone out of jail. In some cases, of course, it is more. The money
used to pay a bondsman can never be applied to the attorney’s fees
in a case.
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