What Your Attorney Needs to Know for Your Bail Hearing

As your Sacramento criminal defense lawyer prepares for your bail hearing, she will need a lot of information from you. Additionally, she may want to interview others who know you, such as friends, family, or employers. She will also need to know if any of these individuals will be able to come to court to post bail for you, either with cash or bond.

Your Sacramento criminal defense lawyer will need any information about past criminal activity. This includes information regarding past arrests, convictions, and sentences. If you have been sentenced to parole or probation, your attorney will ask if you were compliant with the terms. Tell your attorney how many total court appearances you have made and the bail status on any prior cases, as well.

Information regarding your housing is also important to your Sacramento criminal defense attorney. This includes basic information like your address, how long you have lived there, and who else lives there with you. She will need to know whether you rent or own your home. If you rent, you will need to provide the name of your landlord and your current monthly rent. If you have a lease, your attorney will obtain a copy. If you own your home, a copy of the deed will be helpful, as information such as whose name the deed is in, the down payment and purchase prices, and the year the home was purchased are important. Your lawyer will also want to know what the current equity of the home is and current mortgage balance.

There is a chance you may not be able to return to your home upon release, so your attorney will want contact information for anyone you could stay with and their relationship to you.

You should let your Sacramento criminal defense attorney know if and where you are currently employed and how long you have been an employee. Your attorney may want to speak to your supervisor to confirm employment, as well as to verify your hours and job title. She may also check with your employer if your position would still be available if you should be released on bail. If it is a job you have not been at for very long, recent past employment should be noted.

Your Sacramento criminal defense lawyer will ask if there are any family members, either immediate or extended, that rely on you for financial support. Therefore, she will need to know if you are married and have any children. If you have children, whether or not you are divorced and have child support or alimony to pay is important.

Your Sacramento criminal defense lawyer will need to know of any past or current military service, including branch, rank, and type of discharge if no longer serving.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, your attorney will want to know if you have a green card, visa, or current work permit. Whether or not you or your parents were born in the United States is also relevant. Certainly let your attorney know if you have been deported and are now in the United States after having reentered illegally.

As you can see, there is a lot of information your attorney will attain and utilize just for your bail hearing. These questions, of course, are not exclusive and your attorney may have other questions to ask you depending on your case, location, and his own understanding of bail hearings. That is why it is so important to find a knowledgeable Sacramento criminal defense attorney that you can rely on as your criminal case moves forward. Contact Sacramento criminal defense lawyer Param Pabla today at (916) 285-7900.